Another World
by Aeryn Alexander
Summary: Detention with Snape turns into something of an adventure for Hermione and Ginny, not to mention Professor Lupin, as they all discover that Hogwarts holds a terrible secret that none of them want to learn. HG/SS & GW/RL. No slash.
1. In which two Gryffindors are out after h...

Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter and all who reside therein belong to the woman whose name is on the side of the books: J.K. Rowling. And certainly not to me.  
Title: Another World  
Author: Aeryn Alexander  
Summary: Detention with Snape turns into something of an adventure for Hermione and Ginny, not to mention Professor Lupin, as they all discover that Hogwarts holds a terrible secret than none of them want to learn. HG/SS & GW/RL. No slash.  
Rating: PG-13 (mild language, some violence, light romance, and scariness)  
Genre: General/drama/romance/adventure/humor/angst  
Year: 7th for Hermione/ 6th for Ginny  
Author's Note: This story is told in a slightly meandering perspective due to the fact that more than one story is being told at once. It is possible that this plot or close to it has been done before. If so, then I apologize for an inadvertent plagiarism. The question of teacher-student relationships will not be covered herein as that has been dealt with in myriad creative ways by other, more competent authors. All of those who find the idea abhorrent should stop reading now, flame me mercilessly, so forth, so on. I welcome all reviews, but flames will be used to defrost my car in the morning, and if there are enough of them, my neighbors' cars as well. Thank you.  
And to anyone reading "The Man Who Knew Almost Nothing", I am still working on it. Believe me!  
  
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Another World  
  
  
Chapter One  
  
In which two Gryffindors are out after hours  
  
  
  
It all began with the phrase, "Well, we'll show them, won't we?" spoken by a seventh year Gryffindor named Hermione Granger to a sixth year Gryffindor, Ginny Weasley. Their friends, Harry Potter and Ginny's older brother Ron, rolled their eyes. Well, Ron did anyway. Harry was of course smarter than that.  
  
"What without Harry's cloak or anything? You're just going to sneak down to the kitchens and bring back some food?" questioned Ron, holding the invisibility cloak.  
  
A previously made insinuation had been that as girls, Hermione and Ginny couldn't possibly be as good at sneaking about the castle. The remark had only naturally grated, especially considering their multitude of successful after hours adventures and the boys' multitude of detentions.  
  
"That's right, Ron, and we won't need your silly little map either." said Hermione, glancing at the Marauder's Map in Harry's hands. Harry was without a doubt doing his very best to stay out of it.  
  
"Right." agreed Ginny, although a bit more timidly. She was up the for the adventure, though it was a very fourth year thing to do, but she dearly would have liked to use the map.  
  
"Suit yourselves then. We will eagerly await your return." said Ron, bowing with a grin on his face and gesturing toward the common room's exit.  
  
"Good luck!" said Harry as they turned to go.  
  
"They'll bloody well need it." said Ron, pointing to Mister Filch's position on the map. He was most definitely between the girls' position where they were just leaving Gryffindor Tower and the castle kitchens.  
  
  
The castle corridors were rarely patrolled by prefects after midnight, leaving only Mister Filch the caretaker and Mrs. Norris, his cat, to deter students from their mischief making and occasional late night rendezvous. There were quite a few romances blossoming between Ravenclaw house and Hufflepuff house this year, more than there had been in centuries. While romantic, especially considering the untimely death of Cho Chang's boyfriend, Cedric Diggory of Hufflepuff house, just three years earlier, it meant that Mister Filch was making extra rounds, which, on nights when he caught students out of bed, did not entirely displease him. But it was true, of course, that he would have preferred to be catching Gryffindors out after hours.  
  
  
Hermione and Ginny tip-toed carefully down the stairs and out of the tower on their way to the secluded castle kitchens where house elves were busy at all hours of the day and night, almost as though they never slept or rested. It was quite dark, and they didn't dare risk a light, but the challenge of sneaking food from the kitchens while avoiding detection thrilled both of them. It was like a game, albeit a somewhat dangerous one, as neither of the girls wanted to get into trouble, especially with Mister Filch or, God forbid, Professor Snape, who often skulked through the halls in the middle of the night. And then there was also Professor Lupin, who had returned the year before to resume his position as the professor for the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. If they were caught out of the dormitories after acceptable hours, Hermione imagined that he would be very disappointed, especially if he caught them. It would show far too much carelessness on their part.  
  
As they approached a corridor leading from the dungeons, they saw a shadow, thin and long in the flickering torch light. Ginny bit back a gasp as Hermione dragged her into a recessed area by a window. A mumbling voice told her that it was Mister Filch and his cat. They could only hope that the sinister pair did not come their way. Filch might not notice them, if they were extremely lucky, but Mrs. Norris was a cat, and that meant that her keen senses would pick up on them in an instant. They held their breaths waiting, hoping that the creepy caretaker would go the other way or return from whence he came.  
  
They listened intently as slow, shuffling footsteps started to move in their direction. Hermione thought that she could hear the soft pitter-pat of cat feet on the stone floor as well. The sound made her shiver, despite her own fondness for cats. There was just something unwholesome about Mrs. Norris. Ginny's eyes were getting wider by the second until they heard a voice that made their blood run cold.  
  
"Mister Filch, a word, if you please." called a silken voice from the dungeon corridor. It was Professor Snape.  
  
"Of all the luck!" thought Hermione, hoping that Snape and Filch would retreat into the dungeon for a nice, long chat while they scampered off to the kitchens, or back to the tower in defeat, judging by the frightened look in Ginny's eyes.  
  
"Yes, professor?" questioned Filch, who sounded very near, only a few meters away down the hall.  
  
"I know you usually do a bit of cleaning up down in the dungeons tomorrow, but since I must finish working on some Wolfsbane potions for that damn monster tomorrow, I was wondering if you would mind postponing ..." Snape requested, sounding even more churlish than usual.  
  
Both Ginny and Hermione silently fumed at the potions' master's characterization of their favorite professor. Werewolf or not, he hardly deserved to be called a _monster_. But then, Snape couldn't quite forgive him for things that had happened in their past, both the remote and the rather recent, and Hermione and Ginny were both aware of that fact.  
  
"Not at all, professor, not at all." said Mister Filch. Professor Snape was perhaps the one person in the castle with whom he was relatively civil. The only other sure exception was Headmaster Dumbledore. "It's delicate work, I imagine." he added.  
  
"Indeed. This particular potion especially. I always try to have a good supply of it available with Lupin around ... again, though it is incredibly difficult to store." said Snape with a sigh. He could talk about his 'art' for hours upon end, with or without a willing audience, Hermione suspected.  
  
"The sacrifices you make, professor." said Filch sympathetically.  
  
"Tell me about it."  
  
"I've got rounds to make. I have a feeling that tonight ... I just may catch Potter or perhaps Weasley." said Filch.  
  
"I wish you happy hunting, Mister Filch, and if you happen to catch anyone ... interesting, please assign their detentions to me." said Snape. Ginny and Hermione could both picture the look on his face, sneering with an almost gleeful malice. It was present in his voice too.  
  
"I would be pleased to, professor. You're the only one who takes these matters seriously." said Filch, raising his voice as he called after Snape, whose quiet, almost inaudible footsteps they could hear retreating into the dungeons.  
  
The pair held their breaths as Mister Filch began to move again ...  
  
Ginny Weasley almost wanted to cry as she realized that they, Filch and Mrs. Norris, were coming toward where they had chosen hide. Hermione pulled her closer to the wall and gave her a reassuring we-are-Gryffindors-brave-and-strong look. Ginny bit her lower lip and tried to live up to that for at least the moment. It wasn't easy. She had been terrified of Mister Filch since the end of her first year.  
  
They watched as Mister Filch passed them by and then Mrs. Norris. But the cat paused and turned toward them, her eyes flashing in the torch light. She gave an unhappy, almost surprised meow that was like an alarm going up. They heard Filch stop and begin walking back. The cat stood sentinel as though they were going to bolt, going to run for it, but, frankly, the two girls knew that they were caught.  
  
"What have we here?" drawled Mister Filch with a maniac gleam in his eyes. "Two Gryffindors out of their dormitories. This will not do at all. I am afraid that two of you will be serving detention with Professor Snape every evening for the rest of this week at the very least." Then his eyes rested on Ginny. "And you, I hope his has something particularly nasty for you to do."  
  
Hermione shouldered her way in front of Ginny, angry that Mister Filch still remembered Ginny's first year and the unfortunate incident involving Tom Riddle and the Chamber of Secrets, which had also included his beloved cat being petrified. Ginny had been eleven years old and under the power of an extremely formidable Dark Wizard.  
  
"Leave her alone!" said Hermione.  
  
"Awfully brave, Miss Granger, but you've just earned yourself an extra evening of detention. I'd watch your step, if I were you." he said with an unpleasant smile.  
  
  
Filch took them to his office and signed them up for their detentions. Neither of the girls felt like saying anything much as they walked back to Gryffindor Tower sometime later. They felt miserable. Ginny only hoped that her mother wouldn't send her a howler. She had never received one before. She sighed softly as they approached the portrait of the Fat Lady and the entrance to the sanctuary of their house's dormitories and common room.  
  
"Cheer up, Ginny. At least we'll be doing our detentions together." said Hermione.  
  
"But with Snape ... Could it possibly be any worse?" she asked as they stepped through the painting.  
  
Ron and Harry greeted them with slightly smug looks, Ron especially. It was unbearable, Ginny believed, to have an older brother like him, especially one that went to the same school.  
  
"We followed your progress with great interest." said Ron, holding up the magical map. "Everything was fine until about here. Then, we suppose, you either spotted or heard Filch and ducked into a little alcove just here." he said, pointing to positions on the map. "Then the greasy git comes up from the dungeons here." he said, making a sort of swooping motion. "I thought for a minute you were safe, but, no, he nips back into the dungeon and Filch, not to mention his cat, come along here. And wham! You're spotted." he said, making series of exaggerated motion, tapping the map, and chortling. "We followed your march up to his office, but unfortunately what the map can't tell us is how many days of detention you got." said Ron.  
  
"Very funny." said Hermione crossly.  
  
"Well?"  
  
"Ginny got four evenings with Snape. I got five. Happy?" asked Hermione.  
  
Ron's face immediately fell and he looked apologetic as he said, "I never thought it'd be with the greasy git himself. Sorry. Rough luck, girls. I figured you'd just have to scrub trophies or help Madam Pomfrey."  
  
"Yeah, sorry." said Harry, no less sincere.  
  
"It isn't your fault. We should have been more careful. It was just dumb luck." said Hermione, shaking her head.  
  
"You don't think mum will send a howler when she finds out, do you?" Ginny asked Ron, who was an expert about such things. He had received three himself over the years. Ginny, poor girl, looked very close to blubbing about the very idea.  
  
"To you, Gin? Of course not! She would never send her ickle baby girl a howler over mere detentions." Ron reassured her in the most annoying way possible.  
  
"Let's all go to bed then. I think I've had enough excitement for one night." said Hermione, rolling her eyes.  
  
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A/N: Just a reminder: please, if you've read, then review! Most grateful ...  
  
  



	2. In which there is something of an incide...

Chapter Two  
  
In which there is something of an incident  
  
  
  
The next morning when all the students gathered for breakfast in the Great Hall, Hermione and Ginny found their usual seats among the Gryffindor sixth and seventh years. The rest of the house gave them sympathetic looks, having heard about their daring midnight exploits and their resulting detentions from Ron and Harry. The better part of a week of detentions with the potions' master seemed harsh to the lot of them.  
  
"What do you expect he'll have you do?" asked Seamus Finnigan, who had served a detention with Filch a year earlier and turned over a new leaf as the result.  
  
"It won't be that bad, I imagine." said Hermione, mainly for Ginny's benefit.   
  
Two Slytherins in the hall had tried to scare the poor girl with tales of disemboweling live kittens. Hermione had assured her that it could not possibly be true, though Ginny was still pale at the very horrible and gruesome thought. She barely picked at her food until Ron nudged her and threatened to tell their mum that she wasn't eating properly. Then she took only a few sullen bites of her eggs.  
  
"Maybe you'll get off easy and only have to make potions for Madam Pomfrey or something. You could both do that with your hands tied, right?" said Ron encouragingly. He was still rather regretful about sending his little sister out after hours to be caught by Mister Filch, not to mention the abominable sentence of detention with Snape.  
  
"Of course." said Hermione, who was having no trouble with her breakfast. She was in her last year and not nearly as afraid of Snape as Ginny was. In fact she had come to have a grudging respect for the man as a professor. "It will probably be something like that. Making wound cleaning potions is always rather interesting and fun even."  
  
"You don't have to cheer me up. I know it's going to be horrible, but I can handle it." said Ginny, looking up from her plate. "It is only a couple of hours, after all. It's not like it's eternity or anything."  
  
  
The potions' classroom was quiet when Ginny and Hermione entered that very evening, resigned to their fate of detention with the disagreeable professor. Ron and Harry had escorted them to the dungeons with glum looks on both their faces. The four were fast friends, something like the Marauders of old, and when something so dreadful happened to one of them, it actually seemed to happen to all of them. Though they went back to the common room, Harry and Ron felt as though they were serving detentions as well.  
  
The girls, on the other hand, really were having detention with Professor Snape. As they entered his domain, the soft sound of a potion bubbling caught their ears. Snape, they saw, was standing over a cauldron, adding ingredients and with an intense look of concentration on his face. He seemed to take no notice as they watched him. His delicate hands moved with practiced speed and grace as he dropped aconite into the mixture. If the man had not inspired such anxiety and possibly loathing in the two girls, Ginny more so than Hermione, they would have found the sight mesmerizing. As it was, Hermione found herself acknowledging that what he had, his ability to brew complex potions, was a precious gift and a true talent.  
  
For an instant Hermione thought she could see a smile come to his lips. It softened his features and made him seem less hateful, less contemptuous, and more human.  
  
Then he looked up and sneered at them, finally realizing that he was being watched.  
  
"Enough staring. You have work to do." said Snape. Hermione glanced away quickly as his dark eyes met her own.  
  
  
The pair spent what felt like an eternity under Snape's scrutiny as he divided his attention between the potion and supervising their cauldron scrubbing. These were not ordinary dirty vessels for preparing potions. They were ones that, in Snape's words, Longbottom had been at, which meant that the cauldrons had all manner of ill-prepared potions caked, cooked, and seared into them, many of which gave off a pungent aroma when exposed to water and cleaning solutions. Their hands were all to quickly becoming chapped and irritated and their nails broken as they labored silently at the difficult and unpleasant task.  
  
"I didn't know you had helpers tonight, Severus." said a pleasant, but tired voice from the doorway.  
  
"Lupin, the moon won't be full until tomorrow night. What are you doing down here?" snapped Professor Snape, glowering at the werewolf in the doorway.  
  
"Just visiting, I suppose." said Remus, winking at the two girls as he leaned against the door jam. "Are you brewing the potion now?"  
  
"I have a limited store of it put away, but, yes, I am brewing an additional cauldron." said Severus. "In case I am called away unexpectedly and ..." he shrugged. His eyes looked suddenly haunted as he absently gave the explanation.  
  
Hermione shivered, knowing all too well what he meant: in case Voldemort summoned him and did not allow him to return alive. His other obligations would still be fulfilled. He had merely stated fact, and his words were by no means self-pitying, but Hermione felt a twinge of something, compassion or empathy, for the professor.  
  
"Thank you, Severus." said Remus with a nod.  
  
He stepped closer to watch Snape stir the potion, which was simmering nicely.  
  
What happened next can only be described as a peculiar twist of fate. In a blink of an eye, a bottle of cauldron cleaner, some obscure magical draught that contained a potent mixture of cleaning agents, shot from Ginny Weasley's wet hands and into the air. Hermione spun to try and catch the flying bottle, tipping over a sudsy cauldron full of cleaner and seared potion ingredients, which splashed toward the cauldron of Wolfsbane potion, and Professors Lupin and Snape. The bottle glanced off Hermione's hand toward Remus, who grasped for the slippery glass container. Snape, whose speed and graceful movements had earlier been remarkable, unfortunately fumbled for it as well. The bottle, not to mention fate, had other plans, however, as Remus's feet slipped on the damp floor and propelled him into the table where the anti-werewolf potion was being brewed and into his greasy-hared colleague. There was an almighty kaboom a split second later as the contaminated cauldron water, the concentrated cleaner, and the Wolfsbane potion all intermixed and exploded upon Remus, Severus, Ginny, and Hermione.  
  
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A/N: Wow, what a disaster, eh?  
  
priya: Yes, I am continuing. Thank you for the review!  
  
Orlando: It's nice to know that there other people in the world who are not big fans of Ron. (So many people really like him and I can't figure out why!) You're right; he really does need a smack from time to time. Glad you liked the look too. Thanks for the review!  
  
  
  



	3. In which Gryffindor loses house points

Chapter Three  
  
In which Gryffindor loses house points  
  
  
  
The first sound Hermione was aware of when she opened her eyes was Ginny coughing quietly nearby. She groaned softly as she sat up. Her head felt as though it were about to split right down the middle. That had been some explosion. Glancing around, Hermione was surprised that the classroom was not in worse condition. The air was filled with slightly acrid smoke, and the floor, not to mention the walls and everything else, was damp with an oozy gray mixture of potions' ingredients, water, cleaning solution, Wolfsbane potion, and glass fragments. The same mixture was also coating their robes. But the room and its occupants all appeared to be in one piece.  
  
Hermione winced as Professor Snape, his face livid with rage and splotched with the gray muck, rose shakily to his feet, yanking Ginny up with him by the sleeve of her robes. The poor girl was trying desperately not to cry. Lupin was still lying on the floor, massaging his temples, obviously afflicted by the same sort of headache from which Hermione was suffering. Despite the pain in his eyes, he appeared to be ever-so-slightly amused.  
  
"One hundred points from Gryffindor for nearly getting us all killed and for general idiocy!" snarled Snape, thrusting Ginny away and looking at his stained robes.  
  
"Severus, it was only a simple accident. Aren't you being a bit harsh?" questioned Remus, sitting up very slowly.  
  
Hermione could have told him that Snape was simply being Snape, but she felt that the best course of action was to say nothing.  
  
"Harsh! They blew up my classroom! No, _you_ blew up my classroom. You are all Gryffindors and you all blew up my classroom!" said Snape, wiping his face on his sleeve, which only served to transfer more of the slime from his robes to his face.  
  
Remus chose to ignore the outburst as he helped Hermione to her feet and asked, "Are you all right, Miss Granger? Miss Weasley?"  
  
"I ... I think so, professor." answered Hermione.  
  
Ginny could only bite her lower lip and nod. Snape was still glowering at her.  
  
"Maybe we ought to visit Madam Pomfrey to be sure. Potion accidents are tricky things." said Lupin, noting a few small cuts on their hands and faces from the glass fragments that been in the explosive mix.  
  
"We're all right. Honest." said Ginny in a quavering voice, sniffling slightly.  
  
"Severus, I trust their detention is over for tonight." said Remus, putting a protective arm around each of the girls and making it clear that they would be leaving with or without his approval.  
  
"Get out." Snape told them, looking at the mess. "Just get out now."  
  
  
As Remus and the girls left the classroom, they could hear the sound of Snape slamming the door to his nearby personal rooms. Remus chuckled and shook his head as they walked out of the dungeons. He had not expected visiting Severus to be quite so entertaining, although he was still tempted to go see Poppy about a headache potion or something.  
  
"I can't believe what just happened." said Ginny, shaking her head.  
  
"Just an accident." shrugged Lupin, giving her a reassuring smile. "It could have happened to anyone."  
  
"He's right, Gin. Don't fret."  
  
"But the points ..."  
  
"We will earn them back somehow." said Hermione.  
  
"Of course you will." said Remus. "For starters I am awarding you twenty-five points for handling yourselves so well in a crisis."  
  
"What?" questioned Ginny.  
  
"Well, you didn't panic or anything or talk back to Snape when he lost his temper." said Remus lightly.  
  
"Thanks, professor." said Hermione.  
  
"Don't mention it. Now, you two should get cleaned up and go to bed. You really look dreadful."  
  
  
The castle seemed unusually quiet that night as Hermione and Ginny made their way to Gryffindor Tower. The halls were deserted, and all the lights, the candles and torches, seemed pale. On most evenings students could be found walking to the library or the classrooms for either extra study or possible detentions. Or going to the hospital wing for one thing or another. Or visiting friends and significant others in another house. Or returning to their own common rooms for the night after extended conversation in the Great Hall after dinner. But that night the halls were empty of both students and staff.  
  
And when they reached the top of the stairs leading to the common room, the portrait hole was open and the Fat Lady was missing from within her frame. The two girls paused and peered into dimly lit the room, wondering what was going on.  
  
"I don't like this." Ginny whispered as they entered the inner of sanctum of Gryffindor house.  
  
The common room was usually bustling with activity well after dark. The chairs were normally full of talking or studying students, and other lively activities, such as Exploding Snap and Wizards' Chess, were also taking place here and there throughout the room. But this evening, not long after eight o'clock, it was completely and utterly deserted. And the portrait had been suspiciously open. Had everyone left at once? Why? And where would they have gone? Hermione felt sick with dread as she thought of the possibilities: an attack, an evacuation, a disaster. Horrible things might have happened during their absence, while they were secluded in the dungeons or when they had been knocked out for who knows how long.  
  
"Ginny, check the sixth year dorms. I'll check the seventh." said Hermione.  
  
"Right." Ginny agreed. "I hope this is all just a joke or something." she muttered as she climbed the stairs to the room where the girls of her year lived and slept.  
  
The room was empty and dark. But what was a thousand times worse, what couldn't be explained by some emergency or special gathering or anything Ginny could think of, was that the room wasn't exactly like she remembered it from earlier that day. The beds were different, positioned differently in the room even, and covered with linens that were not the same. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  
  
"I've walked into the wrong dormitory." she told herself out loud.  
  
But then she looked at the shape of the room and the windows and realized that this was the room she had been sleeping in since September and immediately raced back down the stairs where Hermione was waiting for her.  
  
"Everything has changed." said Hermione.  
  
"We have to tell someone." said Ginny, nodding her agreement.  
  
"Professor McGonagall." Hermione said, starting toward the chamber of their head of house.  
  
  
Meanwhile in the dungeons of the school Severus Snape was standing in front of his mirror, combing his freshly washed hair. There was nothing for it. The slime from the explosion had to be gotten out somehow.  
  
"My goodness, professor, twice in four years! This is unexpected!" the mirror commented.  
  
Snape only snarled at it and continued combing. He had learned long ago not to dignify the mirror by answering its constant barbs, which most people might have considered well meaning.  
  
His post-explosive detention evening was turning out to be pleasantly student free. Most evenings he found himself dealing with his Slytherins as part of his duty as head of house. While he cared deeply for the students of his house, they were not always a pleasure to be around. The intrigues that went on in the dungeon were often simply beyond comparison. Gryffindors were famous for pranks. With Slytherins it was a different story entirely. It was vicious rumors, veiled threats, and political alliances for them. And it fell to Snape to handle the resulting dramas caused by those three things. It was, of course, not always easy.  
  
This evening, he was surprised to find, only involved a quiet sit by the fire with a good book and perhaps a drop of brandy. Then he noticed something strange. The bathrobe he was wearing ... the shade of green was too pale, and it was a bit large. Had it somehow been bleached or altered? He had been lost in thought much of the evening, pondering his classes, the stupidity of his Gryffindor students, and how nice it was to have a bit of peace and quiet. Now that he finally took in his surroundings, he realized that his rooms, his furniture, his things had all been shifted around. In fact he was quite certain that some of the things in the room were not his at all.  
  
He was immediately annoyed.  
  
"Those deuced house elves and their annual cleaning!" he fumed. "I shall certainly speak to them about this first thing in the morning!"  
  
And with that, he decided to turn in for the night.  
  
  
Hermione and Ginny, upon finding Professor McGonagall's rooms unlocked and empty, left Gryffindor tower to find Professor Lupin. A constant source of quiet strength and comfort, surely he would know what was going on and what to do about it.   
  
They were more than a little frightened as they dashed down the stairs and through the castle corridors. Both girls could admit that to themselves. Their house mates were gone, vanished into thin air, and an eerie, unnatural silence had settled over Hogwarts. Not since the days of the Basilisk had the place felt so unwholesome or unsafe to Hermione.  
  
Their footsteps were abnormally loud as they raced down the passage leading the Lupin's rooms. A shadowy figure emerged from the doorway just as they reached it. Ginny shrieked aloud.  
  
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A/N: This might be a good time to mention that I am really winging it as far as the layout of the castle goes. I am relying heavily on The Lexicon for help in figuring out where things are in Hogwarts. I imagine everyone has their own idea of the floor plan, which may or may not disagree with the one I'm using. What can I say? The place is huge, magical, and confusing.  
  
  
excessivelyperky: Well, here's another chapter. Thanks for the review!  
  
snickerdoodle: Yup, dense is the perfect description. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Witchty-grrl: I read an Ginny/Remus a long time ago and fell in love with the pairing. The unusual ones are a lot of fun to write. The review is much appreciated!  
  
Artemis: All right, all right! Here's another chapter. Thanks!  
  
Michelle: Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Christine: I am hoping this will be an adventure anyway. At least the set-up is mostly out of the way. Thank you for the review!  
  
gagmewithasp0rkx: Well, ta-duh! Here it is! Thank you for the feedback!  
  
  
  



	4. In which the castle suddenly seems quite...

Chapter Four  
  
In which the castle suddenly seems quite empty  
  
  
  
"What's the matter?" asked Remus, the light of a pale torch falling upon his face as he smiled at the two of them. "I heard footsteps and ... my word, but the two of you look scared! Is anything wrong?"  
  
"Professor ..." sniffled Ginny.  
  
"Go on." he said, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You can tell me anything." he assured her, looking at Hermione as well.  
  
"The tower is empty. Even Professor McGonagall is gone? Where is everyone, professor?" asked Ginny.  
  
Remus, who had walked straight to his office from where he had parted ways with the girls earlier, had only just begun to realize that something was amiss, though he had yet to put a name to it. All of his books had been missing from his shelves, for instance. This he had attributed to some sort of elaborate prank as the books had been replaced by antiquated volumes on various topics.  
  
"I will contact the headmaster. Don't worry, girls. We'll soon have this mystery solved." he said with an encouraging smile, ushering them into his rooms.  
  
He gestured for them to have a seat on the couch as he stepped up to the hearth. Remus took a small pot from the mantel, handling it gingerly as he did not recognize the item as being his container.  
  
Tossing some powder into the fire, he said, "Albus Dumbledore."  
  
Then he waited for the headmaster to appear. Hermione and Ginny watched with great interest. Nothing happened. No head appeared in the flames. Remus scratched his head and tossed another handful of powder into the flames.  
  
"Rubeus Hagrid." he said.  
  
Again, nothing. Remus glanced nervously at the girls on the couch and hoped silently and fervently that the powder was defective somehow.  
  
"I hate to say this, but I think we should find our way down to the dungeons and see if Severus is still down there." he told them.  
  
  
The sound of someone pounding on the door to his rooms awakened Severus from sleep. He had just barely dozed off after tossing fitfully on a mattress that didn't feel like his own. House elves! Storming from his bedroom and through his little parlor where the fire was beginning to burn lower than normal, obviously due to the inattention of the cleaning-happy elves, he growled in frustration. It had been too good to be true. He couldn't have one night of peace. It would never happen. He could tell by the knock that it was a staff member. His money was on either Professor McGonagall or possibly Mister Filch. No one else would knock so insistently after hours.  
  
"Yes?" he questioned, opening the door.  
  
He had never even considered the possibility of Lupin, Granger, and Weasley standing outside the door to his chambers. Severus glanced down at his attire, shiny silver pajamas that were definitely not his, the night shirt of which was hanging open to reveal his rather trim figure. He wrestled awkwardly with the shirt for an instant. A pale blush touched his features as he buttoned the garment and tried to sneer and failed to manage the feat.  
  
Hermione hid a grin and a bit of a blush behind her hand as she watched the potions' master in a state of disarray. Then she squinted as she noticed his hair wasn't greasy, which was almost as peculiar as the empty dormitory above them. All cleaned up and dressed in something other than his copious, billowing black robes, he was rather fetching, especially when he blushed just a little bit. Rather fetching indeed.  
  
Even Remus, whose sense of smell was particularly keen so close to the full moon, sniffed appreciatively.  
  
"Sorry to wake you, Severus, but we have a problem." Remus informed him, shouldering his way into the room and beckoning Hermione, who was somewhat distracted, and pale Ginny to follow.  
  
"The potion can't possibly have hurt them, though I expected them to get washed up at least before they troubled me again." said Severus.  
  
"It isn't that. I know this will sound mad, but the castle seems to be empty except for the four of us." Remus told him.  
  
"You are mad! I have a dormitory full of students just a few doors down the hall." said Snape, drawing himself up to his full height, fully expecting this to be part of some incredibly elaborate trick involving the house elves, his belongings, and possibly even the earlier explosion.  
  
"Oh, I don't know about that. You may want to check." said Remus.  
  
"I think I will, and if I find nothing amiss, Lupin, you can expect that I will tell the headmaster all about this. He won't be pleased." said Snape, striding out the door and into the hall. The state of his clothes no longer mattered. There was a shadow of a doubt in his mind and a quiet, worried voice that said, "Check on your children."  
  
  
Severus Snape glided through the dungeon corridors with quick, but measured paced until he reached the entry to the Slytherin common room. A shiver ran up his spine when he saw the open entrance and empty portrait. The den of his precious snakes was unguarded, unprotected. There was a coldness in the very pit of his stomach as he strode into the common room and turned this way and that, trying to locate just one of his young charges. The room was empty and silent as a tomb.  
  
"Malfoy!" he bellowed. "Parkinson!" Severus called for his deputies, for the prefects of his house, but received no answer to his loud summons.  
  
He raced to the stairs leading downward into the sleeping chambers of his first year students and burst through the door. The room was silent and dusty. Everything was not as it should have been. It was all wrong. The curtains of the beds were all drawn. He dashed from one bed to another throwing back the thick drapes, perspiration running down his brow and into his eyes as he found the beds empty. His heart was beating madly in his chest. Where were his Slytherins? Had someone taken them?  
  
He strode purposefully from the dormitory. There was no need to check the other rooms. If the first years were gone, then the rest would be too. There was solidarity in that house, though it was oneness without trust or what most would consider loyalty. No, only Lupin could tell him what was going on. And if the werewolf would not, then the headmaster ... unless he too was gone. Snape's throat went dry. What manner of hell was this?  
  
  
Remus had suggested that Hermione and Ginny go wash up a bit while they waited for Snape to return. A little cool water on their faces would do them a world of good. It would also occupy their minds and give him time to think, to work out what had happened to everyone. He had no serious ideas, no working hypothesis, but he knew that the situation was very grave and would require all of them working together to set right. His instincts told him that much. Three Gryffindors and one Slytherin set against an enigma.  
  
"What ... has happened ..., Lupin? Where are they?" asked Severus breathlessly as he stepped back into the room.  
  
"I don't know, Severus, but we will need to put our heads together." said Remus, rising from his seat on the couch to face Snape, whose eyes were as wild as he had ever seen them.  
  
"I demand that you tell me everything you know!"  
  
"I only know that Hogwarts is deserted. The only exceptions are you, me, and the two girls you had for detention tonight. We appear to be all that's left of the entire faculty and student body. I haven't even seen Filch's cat since the accident." said Remus. Realization flickered through his eyes.  
  
"Lupin?"  
  
"Could the accident have ... done something either to us or everyone else?" Remus questioned.  
  
"Don't be stupid, Lupin. An accident like that couldn't have affected the entire school! If everyone had turned invisible or something, we would have bumped into one of them or something by now."  
  
"But what about us? What if we're the ones who have been changed somehow?" questioned Remus.  
  
"Mixtures like that produced in the lab this evening are unstable, unpredictable things, but ... I don't see how ..." said Snape. Making an unpleasant face, he continued, "I don't see _what_ has been done to us. My expertise in potion making is substantial, but still I must confess that this situation seems to be beyond me. If that potion did indeed do something to the four of us to separate us from the other inhabitants of this castle, I would have no idea as to how to reverse it. It would require very old magic ..."  
  
"Professor, does that mean that we will never see our friends again?" asked Ginny from the door to the bath. Her robes had been magically cleaned and her face was freshly scrubbed, but she was pale nonetheless.  
  
"Of course not, Ginny. We just need to make further study of the situation." said Remus before Snape could answer.  
  
"The library then." said Hermione, who was standing behind Ginny, crossing her arms and trying to look calm and collected. She was managing it quite well.  
  
"Sensible." grunted Snape, who was still too shaken by the empty Slytherin dormitory to glare at her properly.  
  
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A/N: I've got nothing in particular to add or clarify at the moment.  
  
  
Veresna Ussep: Well, while I don't want to give the plot away too much, I commend you on your observation. Thanks for the review!  
  
Myranya: Eerie? That's exactly what I was going for! Thanks!  
  
Artemis: Oh, I think we're all a little crazy. *grins* I am a bad judge of romantic speed. How fast is fast? I tend to prefer massive train wrecks since that's what most relationships are. Plus I am handling multiple ships (well, a ship and an oddment). Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Redone: Yeah, it was unfair, wasn't it? This chapter wraps up a little more neatly though. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Christine: The castle seems pretty empty, doesn't it? All creepy and quiet ... Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Mercurial: Now, if I answered those questions, what would I write in the story? Hmm? Hmm? Thanks!  
  
Barbi Bee: I never thought of it that way. I wonder if anyone ever gets hit or run over by moving rooms. Food for thought. Thanks!  
  
gagmewithasp0rkx: Time travel is an interesting thing. Most people say its impossible (even in science fiction - sparks rather lively debates though). Thank you very much! I'm glad you're enjoying the fic.  
  
lil pixie: Oh, many thing are going to happen to othem. Many things. *cackles* Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Witchy-grrl: The possibilities are all but endless. I only hope I can make the story live up to them! The terrible secret might be a couple chapters away, but I think it's a good one. The review is appreciated.  
  
JoeBob1379: I can't give away the secret! Not yet! And, yes, this is very strange. The pairings will start ... reasonably soon. I think/hope. I love all your quotes and stuff, by the way. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
  
  
  
  



	5. In which the library has visitors

Chapter Five  
  
In which the library has visitors  
  
  
  
Snape and Lupin led the way as they marched from the dungeons to the library. The halls were eerily quiet and darker than usual. Hermione glanced out a window and could see only inky blackness, no moon nor stars to light the night. She shivered and hoped that it was merely the black reflection of the interior wall upon the glass that made it seem so unnaturally dark outside.  
  
The expressions on the faces of their professors were inscrutable. Snape's eyes looked more haunted than they had appeared in nearly a year, since the first battle with Voldemort, since the rumors that many of his students had taken the Mark and were only biding their time before the true battle between good and evil, where they would side with the latter. To Hermione he gave the appearance of being heavily burdened, under intense strain, the source of which came from within and without, but centered around his overwhelming concern for his students, and now that concern also had to extend beyond house boundaries.  
  
Remus looked troubled, but was struggling to retain the appearance of confidence and calm. His smile seemed more than a bit forced to Hermione, but Ginny drew strength from the fact that he could still smile in so bizarre and desperate of a situation. They were not lost in some terrible nightmare so long as they had Remus Lupin to guide and protect them. Ginny had every confidence that he knew just what to do, even if Snape looked as though he might lose it at any minute.  
  
  
They had to light candles to see by in the dark and cavernous library. Snape immediately began pulling potions' books from the shelves one volume after another while Lupin wandered from shelf to shelf with a curious expression on his face. Ginny tried to stay near the candles and safety of the light, but Hermione walked into the stacks with her wand emitting a gentle light to guide her way. She was the first one who realized that something was wrong.  
  
"These books ... even the newest ones are from fifty years ago!" Hermione murmured, shaking her head. She found a copy of _Hogwarts: A History_ and found that it had been published in 1943. "Professor Lupin, have you seen any new books?" she called through the shelves.  
  
"No." he replied in a worried tone.  
  
"We don't need new books, Miss Granger. The solution to this problem won't be outlined in the November issue of _Potions Monthly_." snapped Snape from a few aisles away.  
  
"I just thought it was odd." Hermione mumbled, gritting her teeth and pocketing the history. There was no librarian at the desk, after all, and she fully intended to return it after the crisis was over.  
  
  
After about an hour of gathering books into a large pile on one of the central desks in the library, Professor Snape, who was heading the research expedition, selected about fifteen sizable tomes to take back to his rooms, insisting that it would be easier to research there in the presence of his own collection of books and his laboratory. The leading hypothesis was that the potion accident had indeed done something to all of them, though they were all noticing more and more subtle alterations in the castle around them. They each gathered an armload of books and prepared to leave the library.  
  
But suddenly Ginny paused, feeling an abrupt and inexplicable sense of dread and horror, and turned. Her eyes drifted toward the shrouded ceiling of the library high above them. There was something up there in the far corner. She could see bat-like wings protruding from the shadows. And long legs tucked beneath them. It moved, rattling its wings slightly.  
  
"Professor." she whispered, shifting the books in her arms and tugging at Remus's robes. Her throat was dry with fear as she watched the creature stretch its sinewy legs.  
  
"Yes, Ginny?" he questioned, looking over his shoulder at her.  
  
"Up there." she said, pointing with a trembling hand.  
  
His eyes drifted up to the darkened corner. His eyes widened involuntarily. The thing shifted slightly, revealing two brightly shining yellow eyes, the eyes of a hunter. Black wings, blood red skin, and yellow eyes.  
  
Severus and Hermione, arms full of books as well, looked to see what Ginny and Remus were staring at with such intense and fearful expressions. Severus bit back a gasp and began pulling Hermione toward the door.  
  
"We must run!" he hissed.  
  
The thing on the ceiling twitched in response to his voice, or rather to the desperation in it. Lupin nodded and began ushering Ginny toward the exit too.  
  
The creature gave a high, keening cry and flapped its wings once before taking to the air in a smooth glide. That sound chilled their very blood as they dashed through the library doors and out into the corridors. Severus and Remus were very pale as they closed the doors to block the creature's path. Severus sealed it hastily.  
  
"Run! Now!" he yelled at the two girls.  
  
The four of them set off down the hall with Severus and Remus, wands drawn and books forgotten by the doors, bringing up the rear. They could hear the preternatural scream of the creature behind them. The sound of the library doors shattering, splintering into thousands of pieces followed too. Books slipped from Ginny's grasp as they ran, but Hermione clutched hers for dear life as they raced through the corridors and into the dungeon, half expecting to be overtaken by the bat creature at any time.  
  
When they reached Snape's rooms again, the two professors shoved Ginny and Hermione into the parlor and away from the door, which Snape slammed and bolted. Then at once, as though with a single mind, they began chanting incantations at the door and walls. Hermione placed her books near the couch and watched them with great interest.  
  
"What are they doing?" asked Ginny in a whisper.  
  
"They're putting up wards." she answered.  
  
The screeching of the bat-like thing grew closer and closer. Hermione put an arm around Ginny and drew her wand, fearing that the wards would not be in place in time or would not hold. Then the cries ended. Hermione could see the strain on Severus and Remus's faces as their wards were tested.  
  
"It's retreating." grunted Snape, slipping to one knee.  
  
"For now." agreed Remus.  
  
He grasped Severus under the shoulder and pulled him to his feet. The potions' master had neither the strength nor the desire to refuse the assistance nor sneer at the other professor. The wards he had put in place were extremely strong. Remus helped him to the couch where he sat down and put two trembling hands over his face.  
  
"What was that thing?" asked Ginny as Remus ushered them away from Snape. He could recuperate just as well without their worried, frightened stares.  
  
"A demon." said Lupin.  
  
"Wait a minute, professor," said Hermione skeptically, "those aren't real magical creatures! Demons and devils are just muggle inventions used to frighten children into obedience."  
  
"Are they now?" asked Remus.  
  
"They aren't in any of our books. I've checked." said Hermione.  
  
"Be that as it may, I have heard Albus Dumbledore mention the creatures on more than one occasion, and that's good enough for me. That thing fits his description of them perfectly." said Remus.  
  
Hermione faltered and said, "Well, if the headmaster says they exist ..."  
  
"Anyhow, the wards should hold it off. We can concentrate on finding a solution to our problem, unless of course that thing is part of the problem ..." said Remus. "I need time to think all of this through." he said, rubbing his eyes.  
  
Hermione glanced over at Snape and suggested, "Perhaps I could try to find some tea things."  
  
"Yes, wonderful idea." said Remus absently. "Ginny, help me with the books we managed to escape with." he said, grabbing two volumes from the floor where Hermione had hastily deposited them.  
  
  
Things with which to prepare tea could not be found immediately on hand. There was not so much as a tea cup or a kettle in Snape's apartment, though she suspected that it wasn't his fault, but rather part of the subtle alteration of the castle. She could not account for this phenomenon yet. She had earlier considered time travel, but the books and things were not only from fifty years earlier, but also they were fifty years old. Time had passed, but nothing had changed. Try accounting for that!  
  
She had managed to locate a bottle of spirits stashed away in a cabinet. Watching Ginny and Remus as they flipped through the research materials together, she knew that they didn't need the stuff yet, but Snape, who was still sitting on the couch trying to recoup his strength and collect himself, seemed in need of a little something. He had thrown everything he had into the wards around the apartment and was paying for it. She poured him a small glass and joined him on the couch.  
  
"Professor Snape?" she questioned quietly.  
  
"What could you possibly want?" he asked, not opening his eyes.   
  
Behind the irritation she could hear the exhaustion and diminishing fear in his voice. Otherwise she might have simply set the drink on the nearest end table and joined Ginny and Remus.  
  
"I thought you could use this." she said, forcing the glass into one of his hands.  
  
He opened his eyes and blinked rather stupidly at the glass. He sniffed the contents and took a sip of it.  
  
"Thank you." he said quietly.  
  
"You are quite welcome."  
  
"Placing wards is a dangerous business. Tiring too." he commented, nursing the drink.  
  
"I know."  
  
"I have no doubt that you do." he said a bit sourly.  
  
"I didn't mean it to sound like that. I only meant ..."  
  
"I know, I know." sighed Snape, pressing the cool glass to his forehead. "You don't mean to sound like a know-it-all. It just comes out that way. I've had seven years to come to that realization."  
  
"Thank you, professor."  
  
"Severus. You may as well call me that. We're all in this together, for what it's worth." he said.  
  
"I think this might be going to your head." Hermione laughed nervously, taking the empty glass from his hand.  
  
"Very amusing, I'm sure." he said.  
  
The sudden sound of animalistic screeching in the hall startled them both, not to mention Remus, who leapt up from the writing desk where he was reading, and Ginny, who turned pale again almost instantly. It seemed close. Then they heard an even more fear-inspiring sound: an answering cry from the halls above them. And then another. And another. And another ...  
  
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A/N: And the plot thickens! I probably should mention that I play a lot of video games. The 'demon' is a synthesis of video games monsters. No one wants to know which ones. And I got some help from The Lexicon's bestiary, which does not have demons among is extensive listing, ergo ... they are not in the 'books'. There is a logic flaw in there somewhere. Nevertheless.  
  
  
JoeBob1379: I bet this chapter answered some of your questions. I'm terrible at suspense, by the way. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Witchy-grrl: I'm glad you liked the mental image. It was fun to write. Thanks!  
  
Slytherin: Very astute guesses. The full extent of what has happened will be revealed soon. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Michelle: It sort of has something to do with the Founders. Good guess! And it also involves something from Tom's days at Hogwarts, though not necessarily Tom himself ... That's all I'm going to say about that. I appreciate the review!  
  
Lady Lynet ap Evyn: Actually, that might have been a better idea, but then they are three Gryffindors and a Slytherin. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Mistress Melissande Laertes: I'm not a big fan of nicknames myself (he's almost always Severus or Snape to me), but I figure to each his or her own. Thank you for the review and the interesting opinion!  
  
  
  



	6. In which Hermione finds a clue

Chapter Six  
  
In which Hermione finds a clue  
  
  
  
Hermione shuddered involuntarily as the demonic cries subsided. It was almost painfully quiet in their wake. She looked over at Remus and Ginny. Remus had his wand drawn, almost as though expecting an attack, and a protective arm around Ginny, who was shaking hard. Snape on the other hand was sitting passively on the couch next to her, resting his chin in his hands. He could almost certainly feel anything that was testing his wards. Judging by the sounds, Hermione estimated that there were at least a dozen, probably more, of those things outside their sanctuary. She wondered how long it would take them to get in. In any event they were neatly trapped inside.  
  
"Where have they all come from?" asked Remus aloud.  
  
"I heard a legend once from Lucius Malfoy's father." said Severus.  
  
Hermione and Ginny looked at him a bit strangely.  
  
"What? The Malfoy family has longed communed with dark and dangerous creatures." he shrugged. "Does that surprise you?"  
  
"Not at all. Quite to the contrary. Go on, Severus." said Remus, pocketing his wand and giving Ginny's shoulder a squeeze.  
  
"He said that a host of demons had been imprisoned somehow by the Founders on Hogwarts' grounds during a great war. The four of them had sealed the demons into a separate sort of mirror realm. I was young when Mister Malfoy told the story. I don't know where or how they did it exactly." said Snape.  
  
Remus pondered those words and asked, "Could they have been released somehow?"  
  
"I have no other explanation." said Severus.  
  
"But what happened to the castle then?" asked Hermione.  
  
"The answer to that is not going to be easy to find." said Remus, taking a deep breath. "It is getting late. I recommend that you two girls try to get some sleep while we continue reading and debating in a scholarly fashion."  
  
"But we should help you!" protested Hermione.  
  
"You will be helping us. You will be keeping up your strength and keeping your wits sharp." said Remus.  
  
  
Some blankets were found and the couch was made up for the two girls to sleep upon while Remus and Severus retreated to the potion's classroom, which was well within the wards, thanks to the quick thinking of Snape. The potions' professor was pleased to find that the classroom was exactly how he remembered it, except for the dried gray slime that coated much of the room. Even the bottles of Wolfsbane potion were intact and where he had left them. Both Severus and the werewolf were relieved to see them.  
  
"At least we won't have to worry about being eaten tomorrow night should we still be in this predicament." Severus commented as Remus cleared a spot on a table for the books.  
  
"You couldn't handle one werewolf? Whatever are you going to do about those demons then?" asked Remus.  
  
"Oh, they are most certainly your department. I do believe that demons fall under your purview as Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. And I _could_ handle a werewolf. I just don't believe you would be pleased by my methods." said Snape, flashing an unpleasant sort of smile. There was a spark of humor in his eyes however.  
  
"Touché, Severus." chuckled Remus.  
  
"Now, down to business, Lupin." he said, taking a seat near the stack of books.  
  
  
In the other room Ginny had managed to fall asleep curled up at one end of the soft, overstuffed green couch, but Hermione still felt restless. And something kept poking her in the side. She couldn't seem to find a comfortable position on her end of the couch. Would it have really killed Snape or upset the precarious balance of teacher-student relationships for all time if he had let them sleep in his room? She didn't think so.  
  
It was sometime before Hermione realized what she had in her pocket. It was the old copy of _Hogwarts: A History_ that she had borrowed from the library. Hermione smiled. The current version of the book had always made wonderful bedtime reading. It was better than warm milk.  
  
Hermione started looking through the table of contents in the front of the book. The subjects covered in the book had not changed very much over the course of fifty years. Then she stopped as a chapter title caught her eye: _The Demon Realm of Hogwarts_. She quickly turned to the page where that chapter began and started reading with extraordinary interest. The edition to which she was accustomed contained nothing like this.  
  
During the early days of the school when the Founders, including Salazar Slytherin, were taking in their first pupils, the school came under attack by a vicious host of demonic creatures intent upon stopping the completion of Hogwarts and destroying what the Founders were attempting to create. Trained wizards were formidable foes while untrained ones were easy prey.   
  
The Founders with great unity of purpose fought the hoard, aided by their young students, and sealed the creatures in a mirror realm, another dimension where the demons could not escape or harm anyone in the outside world. The mirror realm was said to resemble the school in perfect detail, which assisted the Founders as they were able to trick some of the weaker demons into entering willingly, though it required a great effort to seal the more powerful ones inside, including the use of Slytherin's skill in the area of potions.  
  
That answered many questions, but it also caused Hermione to pose a few additional ones.  
  
"If this is the demon realm that we're in, then why is everything here from the Hogwarts of the mid-nineteen-forties?" she wondered, tossing aside her blanket.  
  
  
Professors Snape and Lupin were reading in silence when Hermione stepped into the classroom, book in hand. Remus glanced up and frowned.  
  
"You should be fast asleep by now." he admonished gently.  
  
"Sorry, but I couldn't sleep. So I tried reading part of _Hogwarts: A History_."  
  
"That'll do it." snorted Snape.  
  
"And I found something very interesting that might help us understand what's going on here." she said, setting the open book on the table between them.  
  
Severus and Remus leaned over the tome and peered at the chapter title with great interest.  
  
"Malfoy was right!" said Snape with some astonishment, as though he had been skeptical of the tale himself.  
  
"So it seems." said Remus, skimming. "This means that we have somehow been brought into the realm of the demons' imprisonment."  
  
"Well, there has to be a way back out again, especially since it was so easy for us to stumble in here." said Hermione.  
  
"I think getting out will prove far more difficult than getting in. There are things in here that the Founders intended to imprison for all eternity." said Snape.  
  
"I didn't say it would be easy." said Hermione. "But I'm certainly not content to live out the rest of my life in a warded room in the dungeons of a facsimile of Hogwarts!" she said, raising her voice.  
  
"Of course not." said Remus, looking up from the book and shooting not so friendly glance in Snape's direction that said quite clearly, "Don't upset her, Severus!" "We are all getting out of here. I know we will find a way. And you've given us a good start by identifying the problem." Remus told her.  
  
"I want to help."  
  
"And help you shall." said Severus. "But not until morning. Leave this to us for now."  
  
Hermione looked at him blankly for a moment, realizing that he was managing to keep a civil tone, and did the only thing anyone could in that situation. She turned and walked back into the chambers next door to get a few hours of sleep.  
  
"You do realize that we are most likely trapped here permanently, don't you?" he asked Lupin as soon as she was gone.  
  
"I'm a bit more optimistic." said Remus.  
  
Snape merely sneered silently and started going through more books.  
  
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A/N: They seem to be in a spot of trouble, now don't they?  
  
  
Artemis: Yes, where would they hide? They had better keep an eye on those wards. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Witchy-grrl: If they had known about them, then they would probably know how to fight them ... which takes a lot of the fun out of it. After all, Remus and Severus are well-versed in DADA and the girls probably aren't too shabby. And I imagine that there would be real magical creatures (unicorns, pixies, so forth) and mythical magical creatures. Just a thought. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Slytherin Girl: Thank you very much! Always nice to hear. By the way, your quotes are really cool!  
  
labrisa: I think that there was some problem with the website yesterday. I hope it works now. Thanks for reviewing and letting me know about that!  
  
Helen: I always try to be original, but with the volume of HP fiction, it's tough sometimes. Thanks for the two reviews! I will try to update as frequently as possible.  
  
  
  



	7. In which Harry and Ron worry quite a bit

Chapter Seven  
  
In which Harry and Ron worry quite a bit  
  
  
  
Harry and Ron sat in the common room waiting for Hermione and Ginny until almost midnight, by which time they were rather concerned. Almost everyone else had gone to bed, and still there was no sign of either of the girls. Ron had wanted to go to their head of house after ten o'clock, but Harry thought that was a bit imprudent.  
  
"He's killed them both." muttered Ron at half past ten.  
  
"He's looking for somewhere to hide the bodies." Eleven o'clock.  
  
"He's burying them out by the forest." Half past eleven.  
  
"He's standing back and admiring his work." Midnight.  
  
"Fine," sighed Harry, "we should probably alert Professor McGonagall then."  
  
"About time." said Ron shortly.  
  
To Harry's credit he did not suspect the potion master of murder, but he had once served a marathon four hour detention with another professor and would have been extremely grateful to anyone who might have rescued him.  
  
As they rapped on Professor McGonagall's door, Harry tried to think of a way to phrase the situation so as not to annoy her or sound childish.  
  
"Potter. Weasley. Have you any idea of the time?" she questioned as she answered the door in a long tartan housecoat.  
  
"We're sorry, professor, but Ginny and Hermione haven't come back from their detentions with Snape yet. We were worried." said Harry.  
  
"What time were their detentions?" she questioned.  
  
"Seven o'clock, professor." answered Ron, looking at her expectantly.  
  
"I will look into it, but in the meantime I suggest that you two both go to bed." she told them with a stern look.  
  
"You'll make sure they're all right?" questioned Ron, who perhaps had a slightly larger stake in the matter than Harry. Ginny was his little sister after all.  
  
"Of course, Mister Weasley. Now return to your dormitory." she said before closing the door and going to throw some robes on.  
  
  
As they returned to the common room, Ron asked, "Why don't we just find them on the Marauder's Map, put on the invisibility cloak, and go fetch them ourselves?"  
  
Harry sighed. They had been caught out after hours twice that year already, but for stupid reasons: getting food from the kitchens and visiting Dobby the house elf. If they were caught again, it would be serious.  
  
"No harm in checking the map." said Harry, waffling as he thought of the girls all alone in the dungeon with Snape for such a long time.  
  
"That's the spirit!" said Ron as they dashed up the stairs and into the seventh year dorm.  
  
Pulling the map from the chest at the end of his bed, Harry tapped it with his wand and said, "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good."  
  
"Okay. Where are they?" asked Ron in a whisper.  
  
"I don't see them. Or Snape." said Harry, peering at the map.  
  
"Are you sure?" asked Ron.  
  
"Look yourself! They aren't on Hogwarts grounds." said Harry.  
  
"Where are they then?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"Harry, what are we going to do?" asked Ron .  
  
"Should we go to the dungeons and investigate or should we tell the headmaster? Either way, we're in for trouble."  
  
"Dungeons, Harry."  
  
"Right."  
  
  
Hidden beneath the invisibility cloak and carrying the Marauder's Map, Harry and Ron made their way quietly to the dungeons and the potions' classroom where Ginny and Hermione were supposed to have served their detention that evening. The halls were only naturally empty after midnight on a school night. Even Mister Filch and his cat were in bed. They stole quietly through the halls until they reached their destination.  
  
Inside the classroom, they could hear voices talking. Harry glanced at the map. It was Dumbledore and McGonagall.  
  
"Albus, this isn't funny! Two students and a professor are missing!" said McGonagall.  
  
"Have the kitchens been checked, Minerva? It is a serious question." said Dumbledore.  
  
"I sent one of the house elves, and I don't think he will find Severus there."  
  
"I don't know ... Remus Lupin hasn't been seen since a quarter of eight himself. Perhaps they are all there together."  
  
"I find that even more unlikely."  
  
"One likes to be optimistic from time to time. Very well, Minerva, alert the faculty and form search parties."  
  
"You think they are somewhere within the castle grounds?"  
  
"Severus would never leave the grounds without alerting me."  
  
"What if they didn't go willingly?"  
  
"Be sensible, Minerva! We would all be dead already if someone could just waltz into the castle and waltz out again unchallenged with two professors and two students."  
  
"You're certain?"  
  
"Quite."  
  
"I should assemble the search parties then. Excuse me, Albus."  
  
Ron and Harry edged close to the wall as Professor McGonagall swept out of the classroom. Her face looked more pinched than usual. She was worried about her students, past and present, not to mention her colleague Professor Snape. Of course, she would never have admitted to that last bit, not even to Albus, but she was concerned about Severus too.  
  
They waited until she was gone to step into the classroom, knowing the Dumbledore would be far less displeased to see them out after curfew.  
  
"You are certainly getting good mileage out of your father's cloak, Harry." said Dumbledore, looking pointedly over his half-moon glasses.  
  
Removing the cloak, Harry said, "Thank you, professor. Can we help with the search?"  
  
"You know it isn't polite to eavesdrop."  
  
"Can we, professor? Ginny is ..."  
  
"Your sister. I understand, Ron, but the last thing we need is more students out of bed on a night like this."  
  
"Isn't there anything we can do to help?" asked Harry.  
  
"Perhaps the two of you could go to your common room and wait there to see if Miss Granger and Miss Weasley return on their own accord."  
  
"But, headmaster!" Ron objected.  
  
"Mister Weasley, rest assured that every staff member will be gotten out of bed to look for your sister, Miss Granger, and your professors. Everything possible will be done to find them." said Dumbledore with a note of finality.  
  
Harry and Ron nodded with a certain resignation. Something about the headmaster could always make them feel like fourth years again. Harry tossed the cloak over them both, and they trudged from the dungeon. They had no idea where to begin looking for the four missing students and professors themselves or they might not have returned to the Tower.  
  
"If only we had some kind of clue." sighed Ron as they collapsed in front of the fire in the common room.  
  
"Don't worry, Ron. Dumbledore is doing everything he can." said Harry.  
  
"But what if it isn't enough?"  
  
"Ron, if you have any ideas, tell me and I'll go along with them."  
  
Ron sighed heavily and said, "I only wish I had an idea. The map says that they're not on the grounds, so it seems that we're at an impasse."  
  
  
The castle and grounds were searched thoroughly until dawn touched the horizon that morning and the professors were forced to call off the search and prepare to teach their classes, leaving Dumbledore, Mister Filch, Mrs. Norris, and Professor McGonagall, who had canceled her classes in deference to her duties as the head of Gryffindor house, which included her responsibility to find her missing students.  
  
But as the morning began, they were no closer to locating Hermione and Ginny or Remus and Severus.  
  
Albus and Minerva strode through the dungeons, watching young Slytherins pass by with concern replacing their normally contemptuous facial expressions. It could not be easily said that they did not care for their head of house. Many of them saw a strong defender and a role model in Severus Snape. And it bothered and frightened them that something could happen to him.  
  
"Where could they have possibly gone?" questioned Minerva quietly as they walked.  
  
"This castle is a mysterious place. There are rooms and corridors that disappear and reappear at will. Have I ever told you about the ..."  
  
"Yes, Albus, you have." interrupted Minerva. "But if they stumbled into one of these rooms, why haven't they stumbled out again? And why was Remus with them, if they are indeed all lost together?"  
  
"Who's to say, Minerva? We must remember that Severus and Remus are both very capable, and Ginny and Hermione are not helpless either. It may be up to them to sort this out."  
  
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A/N: I imagine only a few people were/are interested in what everone else is doing while the unlikely quartet is trapped in the prison realm, but it is somewhat important, and I wouldn't want anyone to think that everyone else was oblivious to the disappearances.  
  
  
Slytherin Girl: Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Amidalasky Snape: I'm glad you're enjoying it! Thanks for the review!  
  
Michelle: Thank you!  
  
Witchy-grrl: I don't explain things very well, but can't you imagine a wizarding kid and a muggle kid arguing about this sort of thing and the wizarding kid saying, 'that's not a real magical creature at all!' or something like that. Maybe I'm just weird. Thank you for the review!  
  
Aqua Child: Thank you! I'll try to update at reasonable intervals.  
  
Harriet Weasley: I am glad that you like the story! Thanks for reviewing!  
  
JoeBob1379: Right now I am concentrating on getting them all out alive (I hope that doesn't give too much away!). And, yes, I very fortunately do know why the castle is weird. Although, I am glad you asked, because most of the time I don't have those answers. Keeps me in my place. I can't answer the question about how long it will take. But the romantic pairings should begin soon. But then, what is soon? Oh, the things I ponder ... Thank you for reviewing!  
  
  



	8. In which Grindelwald and 1945 are discus...

Chapter Eight  
  
In which Grindelwald and 1945 are discussed  
  
  
  
Hermione awakened to the sound of Ginny giggling as she watched Professor Lupin conjuring breakfast for all of them. Severus was standing the doorway to the storeroom, which connected his private rooms, his offices, and the classroom, reading or perhaps pretending to read while rolling his eyes at Remus and Ginny. Hermione yawned and stretched before joining them. They had moved the writing desk away from the wall in order to use it as a table.  
  
"It isn't much, but this sort of thing isn't exactly my specialty." said Remus, gesturing toward the breakfast and managing a smile.  
  
"It will have to suffice until we can find a way to get to the kitchens without being killed." said Severus, closing his archaic potions' tome.  
  
"And as you've said several times, so often in fact that I could hear you even after I dozed off, dealing with those monsters is my job, isn't it?" asked Remus, motioning for them all to have a seat.  
  
"Touchy, aren't we? Does it have anything to do with the moon that will be rising tonight?"  
  
"Ironically, yes." said Lupin, who had noted that morning when he had peered into the corridor outside that there was no sunlight and probably no moonlight either. Hermione could have confirmed that for him. But still he felt the pull of it. He felt the wolf already tugging at his mind.  
  
"Tonight's the full moon!" exclaimed Ginny, dropping her fork with a loud clatter.  
  
"And tomorrow night and the night after, but Severus has potions made up for me already, so don't fret about it, Ginny." Remus told her with a warm, comforting smile.  
  
"I wasn't worried. I just forgot." she said, blushing slightly.  
  
"Trusting." chuckled Severus darkly as he helped himself to some of Remus's conjured toast.  
  
"He has earned our trust." said Hermione.  
  
Severus looked at her for a moment and asked, "Are you implying that I somehow haven't?" There was something like hurt in his eyes.  
  
"Not at all." she replied sincerely. "Why do you ask?"  
  
"I sometimes wonder." murmured Severus with a shrug, turning his full attention to his food.  
  
Hermione couldn't help but to feel a little guilty for her off-hand remark, which had only been intended as a defense of lycanthropic Remus and not as an insult to Severus. It had simply been interpreted badly.  
  
"I do trust him. Mostly. I trust him not to kill us all or hand us over to Voldemort. And isn't that enough? What more does he want from us? From me?" she wondered as they ate in silence.  
  
  
After Remus had magically cleared the table, he looked at his three companions and sighed. Severus was brooding over dark things, some related to their predicament and others not, but it was written upon his sallow features in an indelicate hand. Hermione was contemplating something as her brow was furrowed. Remus suspected that it was what she had read in the history book or questions derived from that source. Ginny was watching them and himself, watching just as he was and perhaps wondering if those gathered around the makeshift table were equal to the task ahead of them. Remus smiled softly as he realized how alike they were. Watchers and observers, seldom playing the active part that others were so desirous of.  
  
"What do you suppose they're doing?" asked Ginny softly.  
  
"Who?" asked Snape.  
  
"Them, out there."  
  
"Oh. They stopped testing the wards hours ago." said Severus with a shrug.  
  
"Perhaps they're sleeping. They do sleep, don't they, professor?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Yes, fortunately for us, but I don't think I would count on it enough to venture out just yet." he replied.  
  
"Indeed not." Snape said with a sneer. "But we were lucky yesterday. If that one had awakened any sooner in the library it certainly would have taken one of us."  
  
"Taken?" questioned Ginny.  
  
"Your esteemed Defense Against the Dark Arts professor would probably wish for me not to elaborate, Miss Weasley."  
  
"You know. This is a bit ridiculous. I appreciate respect and deference as much as the next bloke, but we might be trapped here for days. My name is Remus. Her is name is Ginny. Her is name is Hermione. And yours is Severus. If we're going to form a working partnership, and we must if we intend to survive until the next dawn, then formality should perhaps be cast aside. Are we in agreement?" His tone was one of frustration and annoyance, which they had seldom heard the mild-mannered professor use.  
  
"Well, we are in this pickle together." shrugged Hermione, looking at Severus and hiding a smile behind her hand. In her case he had already made that sacrifice.  
  
"You are doing away with order and discipline, you know, but I suppose I can live with it on this occasion." said Severus sulkily.  
  
Ginny merely nodded her consent.  
  
"Right then. We are in a pickle. The worst one I have ever been in. So we must start finding our way out." said Remus with a nod.  
  
"This has been bothering me for some time now. I trust everyone else has noticed it too. The furnishings and books and so forth all appear to be from the mid-forties, from about fifty years or so ago. Why is that?" asked Hermione.  
  
"Could this place change every so often? You know, every hundred years or so?" questioned Ginny.  
  
"While that would be an admirable feat of magic, I find it unlikely. What would be the point? To give the inmates here fresh reading material and new mattresses?" asked Severus with a derisive snort.  
  
"Play nice, Severus!" chided Remus. "I would think that perhaps that the decor is a result of some event either here or in the outside world. A catastrophe or something." mused Lupin.  
  
"Could it have had something to do with Tom Riddle?" asked Ginny sheepishly. "He was here during that time." she added.  
  
"Even he would not be foolish enough to knowingly tamper with something like this. I doubt very much that demons recognize the difference between a pureblooded snack versus a ... less than pureblooded one." said Severus.  
  
"Grindelwald?" suggested Hermione, remembering reading on the back of a chocolate frog card that the Dark Wizard Grindelwald had been defeated in 1945.  
  
Remus and Severus shivered at the mention of the name. Before there had been Lord Voldemort, there was Grindelwald.  
  
"Well?" asked Hermione.  
  
"He was crazy enough, they say." Severus said.  
  
"But Dumbledore defeated him ... so he was killed in nineteen forty something." said Remus, shaking his head.  
  
"There were ashes. Or so I hear. But do you recall anything more than stories? Do you recall ever reading anything more than vague notions and dates on the subject of Grindelwald's defeat?" questioned Snape.  
  
"No." said Remus and Hermione.  
  
"So, let us hypothesize that he was imprisoned here, since Azkaban certainly could not have held him before the dementors were brought in. Perhaps a copy of Hogwarts from 1945 went with him. What this theory does for our current situation, I cannot say, but there you have it."  
  
"Knowledge is power." murmured Hermione.  
  
"And ... and he wouldn't still be here, would he?" asked Ginny, her freckles standing out against her pale skin.  
  
"Not very likely. The other occupants of this improvised hell would have made mince meat of him long ago." answered Snape.  
  
"At least we can be sure that Professor Dumbledore knows this place exists then since he defeated Grindelwald." said Hermione.  
  
"True, but it may take some time before he realizes that we've been sucked into this realm. We must try to find our own solutions." said Remus as gently as possible.  
  
"You really think the Founders left an escape route in this place?" asked Severus, glancing almost half-apologetically at Ginny and Hermione.  
  
"For one reason and one reason only. Godric Gryffindor would have taken accident-prone and even curious students into account. He wouldn't have abandoned the hapless to certain death." said Remus.  
  
Severus's lip curled into a sneer as he said, "I certainly hope your faith is not misplaced."  
  
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A/N: That should explain a few things. Not everything, but some things.  
  
  
kristen: Wow! Thanks for the compliment! I shall certainly keep writing.  
  
Lily_Cat: Well, with 55,000 Harry Potter fics, it is difficult for to be original, but I try. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Witchy-grrl: It has been a while since I've watched _The Princess Bride_. Wesley was the hero, right? Ron and Hermione as five-year-olds ... *chortles* Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Lexia: I appreciate the compliment and thanks for the review!  
  
lil pixie: The castle is filled with the creatures. I don't have a specific number, but certainly more than one. Are there any other creatures in there? Good question. I'm thinking probably not, unless you count one werewolf named Remus. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Moonlitbeauty: I was going for creepy! Thanks!!  
  
JoeBob1379: I never know the ending when I start writing. That would spoil the fun of it! I just have some random mental images and string them along with some weird ideas. I can't really answer your questions without giving too much away. The romantic action ... will be coming soon. A couple of chapters ... maybe. Sorry about the non-answers. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Lady Lynet ap Evyn: Thank you very much!  
  
Helen: Wow, that's the first time I've heard of someone daydreaming about something I've written. *blushes* Thanks!  
  
labrisa: Thank you!  
  
Aqua Child: The pairing is pretty rare, but it has been done before. There are several stories where Ginny becomes a werewolf, for instance. I read a few of them a while back. Thank you for the review!  
  
  



	9. In which Minerva McGonagall is very much...

Chapter Nine  
  
In which Minerva McGonagall is very much surprised  
  
  
  
The day was wearing on and the four missing students and teachers were no closer to being found than the were when darkness still ruled the heavens. Albus Dumbledore was troubled, terribly troubled. He sat in his office, waiting for Minerva to return from conferring with Hagrid, who was quite distraught, and Mister Filch, who was feeling rather put out. If she returned without good news, then the headmaster would be divulging some information that, if he had his wish, would remain secret long after his time at Hogwarts ended.  
  
A knock at the door caused the aging wizard to sigh.  
  
"Come in." he called, leaving his desk.  
  
Minerva McGonagall had returned. Her face was drawn, and she looked to be at her wits' end. The day had already been a long one for her. She cared about all of students, but those missing were among some of her favorites, though she tried not to show it. Remus, who had been a shy and kind child, had been among the best she had taught during her long years of teaching. Hermione was exceptionally smart and brave. Ginny was a sweet girl and special to most of her house. Even at sixteen, she was still a kid sister to most of the sixth and seventh years. And then there was Severus, of course, who was never her charge, but who had been through so very much.  
  
"Albus, there's been no luck." she said, taking a handkerchief from her pocket and dabbing her right eye. "We've been over every inch of the castle and the grounds."  
  
"Perhaps there is one more place that should be taken into consideration." said Dumbledore.  
  
"Oh, yes, Hagrid and Filch have been sent to Hogsmeade. The Shrieking Shack will be checked too, of course." said Professor McGonagall.  
  
"Minerva, this may come as something of a shock to you, but do you recall the strange circumstances that occurred during your sixth year?" questioned Dumbledore.  
  
"That was the year that you missed teaching nearly half your classes because of Grindelwald, wasn't it?" she questioned. Stern Professor McGonagall immediately blushed as Albus raised his eyebrows.  
  
"What a funny way of remembering it, but, yes, that was the year." he nodded.  
  
"And what does it have to do with the disappearances?" she asked him.  
  
"A memory charm was placed on you during the first week of May that year. At your request, I should add."  
  
"Albus? It seems rather absurd to say that I don't remember being subjected to such a charm, but ..."  
  
"I know."  
  
"In fact I clearly remember having a wonderful time all that spring while you were away. I had a study group with several of my friends to keep us from falling behind in transfigurations."  
  
"I am pleased that the charm worked so well, but since I placed it on you myself, I must dispute what you remember, or rather what you do not." said Albus gently. "It was a rather weak charm actually. I half expected you to break through it over the years, but you have never dwelled unnecessarily on the past."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"But I have to remove it, Minerva, so that we may discuss another possible answer for our current crisis." he told her, drawing his wand.  
  
"All right, if you think it's for the best." she agreed.  
  
"_Instauro_!" he said with a wave of his wand.  
  
Professor McGonagall swayed dizzily for a moment. Dumbledore caught her by the arm to prevent her from falling.  
  
"It may not all come back at once, but that should do it, Minerva."  
  
"Yes, Albus." she nodded. Frowning, she asked, "I went with you to fight Grindelwald, didn't I?"  
  
"You managed to tag along." he chuckled. "Against my better judgment."  
  
"I'll never be able to lecture Harry Potter again." she groaned, removing her glasses and rubbing her eyes. "Or Weasley for that matter."  
  
"There, there, Minerva. You were very helpful. I would never have been able to defeat Grindelwald alone. I would have had to find Aurors to help me, and who knows what Grindelwald could have accomplished by then? You were an invaluable asset."  
  
"It was horrifying, Albus, what that man had done." she said, shaking her head.  
  
"I know." he agreed quietly. The things she had seen. That had been the chief reason she had asked him to cast a memory charm on her.  
  
"And what you did to him ... it was only just. It was the only way. No mere prison could have held him, not even after you snapped his wand. And his followers ..."  
  
"Terrible times. Terrible indeed. But you do realize why I wanted you to remember. It wasn't because of the blood or carnage or pain, Minerva." he said gently.  
  
Her eyes widened as she realized what he meant.  
  
"Albus, you don't mean that they have gotten inside the other place, the prison world, somehow! Everything about it was removed from the books! Not that anyone read those particular ..."  
  
"Yes, Minerva, I fear that it is true. Our friends and students somehow managed to cross the barrier between our world and the demons' prison. And I do not believe that they will find it easy to return without some assistance from us."  
  
"Is there any way for us to bring them back or to contact them?"  
  
"The Founders may have left a way to reach the demon realm. I know that at least one of them was good at preparing for emergencies or the unexpected. But finding this method of communication may not be easy. I seem to recall that it had something to do with mirrors."  
  
"And we must hurry! Goodness knows what must be happening to them in there."  
  
"Yes, time is of the essence." Albus agreed. "I must locate a text that I saved from before the defeat of Grindelwald. Instructions, if you will."  
  
"And I should ...?"  
  
"Contact the parents of your students. Do not frighten them or tell them too much, but apprise them of the situation."  
  
"Of course." she nodded, turning to go. She had been planning to do just that.  
  
"Minerva, you haven't mentioned the kiss."  
  
Her thin cheeks turned bright scarlet in hue as she turned again.  
  
"All these years I thought you were barely aware of my ... of my school girl crush on you and now I find out that I kissed you! What the devil am I supposed to say?"  
  
"I don't know, Minerva. I wasn't exactly expecting a thank-you, but some comment might have been nice." he said, his eyes twinkling, laughing, behind his glasses. He had been waiting fifty years to tease her about that, and he was going to enjoy it.  
  
"You old rascal!"  
  
"Who me? I'm just a defenseless old man."  
  
"You? Defenseless? That will be the day!" she snorted before dashing out of his office.  
  
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A/N: I'm sorry I didn't warn everyone about the very mild AD/MM pairing. It won't be a big thing. I'm pretty sure about that. And, yes, the next chapter will focus on the intrepid quartet in the other world. Just lightening the mood and so forth, so on.  
  
  
JoeBob1379: Your observations on writing were really neat, and I totally agree with you. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Lady Lynet ap Evyn: It's nice to know that I can write something addictive. Thanks!  
  
Astraea: I'm glad you like the pairing. I usually prefer Remus/Sirius (not that Hermione/Remus isn't cool sometimes), but I thought this would be kind of different. I like a lot of very different pairings myself. Thank you for the review!  
  
Dixiehnsnluver: Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Rosmerta: I don't know if the demons are like vampires. *winces* That's a really interesting thought. Sometimes I feel compelled to give a long rambling answer to a question ... If they wanted to try the Bible theory (just drifting out in to the hypothetical here), they would possibly need to get back to the library ... That might be a little rough. Unless, of course, Snape's predecessor happened to have one in the apartment (and since I am writing the guy as an OC in another story, I feel qualified *chortles ironically* to say that he just might). I think I've already hinted that there are some books in there (potions' stuff mainly), but they would still need to locate it. A cross would be infinitely easier to come by in that they could make one easily enough; however, there is a knowledge problem with both options (they've never been trained to fight these creatures and probably haven't seen _Buffy: Vampire Slayer_ or _Angel_). *sighs* But I loved the question. I had never really thought of any of that. Thank you for reviewing and I hope my answer doesn't freak you out or anything!  
  
Ledele: I'm glad you have found the story to original. Thanks for the review!  
  
Aqua Child: Thanks!  
  
Mercurial: Many, many things ... Thank you for reviewing!  
  
  



	10. In which Remus becomes a werewolf

Chapter Ten  
  
In which Remus becomes a werewolf  
  
  
  
By that evening, after a day of listening to intermittent demonic shrieking and trying to find a solution to their situation, Severus Snape was certain of two things: the books they had taken from the library were all but useless and Remus was beginning to seem too restless for comfort. It was not that he didn't trust Remus. On the contrary, he trusted the man just as much as he trusted anyone else, although that wasn't saying very much at all. It was the werewolf, the abominable monster in him, that Severus could not abide. Having come very nearly face to muzzle with the creature during his years as a student, he did not want a repeat performance of such a terrifying and ghastly experience, which he felt had very nearly cost him his life. He sneered as he closed the worthless tome in his lap and stood.  
  
"Remus, are you ready to take your ... medication?" he inquired, struggling to be civil.  
  
Ginny and Hermione glanced up from their books. Both had taken seats in front of the fire, almost at his feet, while Remus occupied the writing desk. They watched Remus carefully mark his place in his book and stand.  
  
"I believe so." he said.  
  
"I trust you want to change in private as well." said Severus.  
  
"If you don't mind." sighed Remus with the barest hint of a growl.  
  
"Come along then."  
  
Hermione and Ginny waited until the pair had left the apartment, going to the potions' classroom to complete their business, before saying anything.  
  
"Really! You'd think Professor Snape could be nicer to him than that, even if Remus does have lycanthropy."  
  
"They go back a long way, Ginny. I don't think he means to sound so hurtful anymore. It just ... comes out that way. Practice, I suppose. Honestly, I think he is just as frightened as the rest of us." said Hermione.  
  
"Frightened?"  
  
"Don't tell me you're not!"  
  
"Of course I am. I just thought ... I just thought I was the only one."  
  
Hermione laughed quietly and said, "Not by a long shot."  
  
  
Meanwhile in the classroom, Remus was sipping from a smoking goblet and trying not to make faces as the brewer of the potion was watching him. When he had finished the bitter draught, he placed the goblet on a nearby table and smiled.  
  
"Thank you, Severus. I shudder to think what might have happened without the potion."  
  
"As do I. I imagine that we would have had to lock you up somewhere." said Severus.  
  
"And I was expecting a silver dagger!" laughed Professor Lupin.  
  
"_I_ never tried to murder _you_."  
  
Growing suddenly more somber, Remus said, "I hope you understand that I didn't either."  
  
"Still claiming that it was a foolish prank gone awry?"  
  
"No, incredibly foolish and terribly awry. And the idea was Sirius's. Not mine. Not James's either."  
  
"Would you tell, even now, if had been?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I will try to believe you."  
  
"Are we any closer to getting those poor girls home?" asked Remus, lowering his voice slightly.  
  
"I need more information on the original process of creating this world and sealing it away from our own, not to mention a half dozen other things."  
  
"Ginny and Hermione are ..."  
  
"Both doing their best. I know. But for once the fault doesn't lie with the students, but with the materials. They will ... we will never find the answers in those books. The answers simply aren't in them." said Severus impatiently.  
  
Suddenly Lupin felt a slight tremor and a tingling in his limbs. He looked Severus in the eye and shook his head, indicating that he no longer had time to converse on the topic.   
  
Severus stepped away in alarm as Remus began his transformation into a werewolf. It was a horrific thing to watch, and Severus had never witnessed the change before. Few people had done so even in the days of the Wolfsbane potion. Even as Remus assumed the form of a werewolf, the pain in his eyes remained all too human. Severus was startled to find that he could see something of his colleague in the monster.  
  
Then another sensation struck him. There was a sudden pressure against the wards from all sides as though many ears were pressed against a door, listening and holding their breaths. The transformation had caught the attention of the demons. Severus could feel that attention, and it made him sick to the stomach and his skin crawl. Whether they had detected the presence of a Dark Creature or a subtle change in the wards Remus had placed himself, Severus could not tell, but something had made the demons aware of them again.  
  
A soft whine from the floor caused Snape to return his attention to Remus, who was looking up at him rather expectantly. The werewolf looked rather pointedly toward the door to the classroom.  
  
"You want to go back inside the apartment?" Severus questioned.  
  
Remus made another whining sound and seemed to nod.  
  
"Very well. Go on then." sighed Severus, opening the door for him.  
  
Remus looked up at him doubtfully. Severus blinked and frowned for a moment before he realized what Remus was trying to say. Interpreting the facial expressions of a docile werewolf wasn't easy.  
  
"I don't think you'll scare them at all. You look too ... depressing for that." Severus said, frowning even more as he tried to be reassuring.  
  
Remus looked grateful as he trotted past the potions' master and back into the room where Ginny and Hermione had returned to reading. They had stolen the couch in Severus's absence.  
  
Ginny grinned when she saw Remus, who looked more like a large and scruffy wolf-like dog than a dangerous creature of darkness, and tossed her book aside to kneel on the rug next to him. It was obvious to Hermione that Remus was trying to sneak back into the room and lie down quietly by the fire without making a fuss. With Ginny in the room that simply wasn't going to happen.  
  
"Oh, there now! You don't look so bad." said Ginny, oblivious to the fact that she was almost talking baby-talk to her Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. She ruffled his ears affectionately, reminding Hermione of the first time she had met Snuffles, Harry's godfather in disguise. It was sweet really.  
  
The werewolf on the other hand gave a whine of embarrassment and tried to cover his head with his formidable paws.  
  
"You know, I would have had your arm off already if you did that to me." commented Snape.  
  
"I dare say _you_ would." she shot back defensively. Her eyes widened in horror as she realized what she had said and, more to the point, to whom.  
  
"Ten points from ... Oh, forget about it." sighed Severus, rethinking his decision and retrieving his book from the couch. It was a moot point.  
  
"I don't bite either. You _can_ sit down." said Hermione.  
  
"Very well." said Severus moodily, taking a heavy seat at the other end of the couch.  
  
  
About half an hour later Remus had fallen into a deep sleep and Ginny had taken the hint that he was still a professor and not a stray, albeit overly large and wolfish, puppy dog, which meant that she had returned to the book she had been reading earlier on potions that could do very strange things. Severus closed his tome with a sigh and glanced at the door that led into the corridors of the school. The demons had been very quiet since Remus had fallen asleep.  
  
"How far away are those books you dropped, Ginny?" asked Severus, making a face as he said her name.  
  
"About halfway to the library." she answered.  
  
"I want those books." sighed Snape.  
  
"You can't be thinking of going out there." said Hermione reproachfully.  
  
"Let me rephrase my statement: we need those books. We have exhausted our resources and must acquire new ones." said Severus.  
  
"Fine. Then we can all go." said Hermione.  
  
"Don't be ridiculous, Hermione. Why take the risk?"  
  
"Safety in numbers." she countered.  
  
"We can't take him." said Severus, nodding toward the sleeping werewolf. "They were showing far too much interest in him earlier, if you take my meaning."  
  
"The wards?"  
  
"You have the idea then."  
  
"Then the three of us," said Hermione, adding, "if you're willing, Ginny."  
  
"Of course." said the red-hared girl, her eyes widening.  
  
"Gryffindor recklessness." snorted Snape.  
  
"That's right." answered Hermione.  
  
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A/N: My description of Remus as a werewolf comes from the chapter "Grim Defeat" in PoA when Snape asks the class "Which of you can tell me how we distinguish between the werewolf and the true wolf?" Now, of course, no one ever gave an answer, so I made the assumption that a werewolf would look a lot like a regular wolf. The part where Remus changed in PoA, seemed a big vague too. I just thought I should explain my reasoning.  
  
  
Rhianna: Thank you very much!  
  
Silverstar: Thank you for reviewing!  
  
JoeBob1379: Why is the castle weird? Okay, I must have done a very poor job in explaining this. My fault entirely. And I hope I don't give any plot points away with this explanation. Grindelwald was tossed into the demon's prison in 1945. Whatever process that was used to do that also changed the prison world castle into a copy of the real 1945 Hogwarts. It was an unexpected side effect. So why didn't the castle change again when SRHG were tossed in by the potions' accident? Well, if you've noticed the classroom did change, or rather it remained (to them) the same. But the rest of the castle didn't because of the very imperfect way in which they traveled to the prison realm (potions' accident). Whew! That's one long-winded explanation. Thank you for the review and excellent questions!  
  
Rosmerta: I am glad that you find everyone in character. Dumbledore is always a struggle (at least for me personally). I have to tell myself quite often that he isn't Gandalf. Thanks for the review!  
  
Witchy-grrl: I don't think that I'm going out on a limb when I say that Hermione retains a lot of information. I wonder if she would remember the tenpin bowling or the chamber music though. I must admit that I like that Albus/Minerva pairing a lot (I think I first enjoyed it in the fic "Trust Me" by Freelancer), although I don't have anything against the Tom/Minerva pairing (well, except that he's pure evil - oh, like that's necessarily a bad thing). And, yes, the age difference is pretty significant, but I don't think he would have _looked_ all that old. I think in CoS it is mentioned that his hair is still auburn, or auburn and gray, or something. Of course, the age difference never goes away, if you think about it. She just gets older too. Thanks for the very insightful reviews!  
  
Spark: I haven't read "Hinge of Fate", but I will try to check it out sometime. I think the whole memory charm idea has been used an awful lot, almost to the point of cliche, but, well, here I am. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Mercurial: I am working on four projects right now, one of which is a companion piece (I am _so_ arrogant) to this story that tells the complete Albus/Minerva story because it refused to fit nicely or neatly inside this one. But it will remain a subplot in this story too. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
hasapi: Thank you for all over the wonderful reviews! I especially enjoyed your guesses about what had happened. The 'Maybe they're dead' one was especially interesting. I must admit that I never saw "The Others", but I think I remember the previews. Very creepy, I imagine. Thanks!  
  
  



	11. In which a terrible mistake is made

Chapter Eleven  
  
In which a terrible mistake is made  
  
  
  
The trio all had their wands drawn as they stepped into the gloomy dungeon corridor with Severus in the lead. The professor paused and listened before nodding curtly and motioning for Ginny and Hermione to follow him. His steps were quick and quiet as he strode through the hall with his robes billowing almost soundlessly around as he moved. The two young women followed with hurried steps that were not nearly so graceful as they glanced behind them from time to time, fearful of pursuit and other lurking dangers. The distance had seemed shorter the previous night when they had been running for their lives in the opposite direction.  
  
Hermione heaved a small sigh of relief when they came upon the pile of books in the middle of the corridor, undisturbed by the demons, who cared little for such things. Snape immediately gathered a pair of heavy tomes in his free arm. Ginny and Hermione followed suit, not daring to put their wands away. Danger felt close, very close. Severus paused for only a moment to examine the titles of the books, nodding with mild approval.  
  
"Let's go." he said in a low growl, ushering the girls back down the passage.  
  
As they turned to go, they heard a sound that made their blood run cold, the keening and penetrating cry of a demon near at hand. They needed no one to tell them to flee before the sound this time and broke into a run for their dungeon sanctuary. Severus could hear the sound of flapping wings bearing down upon them. He shoved Ginny and Hermione along as he glanced over his shoulder. That was his mistake.  
  
Severus caught the toe of his shoe on the stone floor in his haste and toppled to the floor, losing his grip on the books, but thankfully not his wand. In an instant the creature was upon him and he found himself locked in a desperate struggle with the demon that had been chasing them. He cried out in agony as the beast tore at him, rending robe and flesh as it sought to cease the struggles of its prey.  
  
The sound of his screams halted Ginny and Hermione in their tracks and turn to face the enemy that was savaging their professor and protector. Their hearts were both hammering as they began casting curses from their small arsenal of offensive spells.  
  
"_Conjunctivitis_!"  
  
"_Incendio_!"  
  
"_Furnunculus_!"  
  
"_Impedimenta_!"  
  
While not particularly strong or illegal, the curses and spells caused the demon to claw at its own face, catch on fire, break out in boils, and slowly begin to crawl away from its victim. It was a moment before it managed to take to the air and fly clumsily back up the corridor.  
  
Hermione watched in terror as the wand slipped from her professor's hand and he lay still upon the cold stone of the hallway. Blood. She could see the blood as she moved forward with leaden steps. Torn robes. Torn flesh. And blood that was running freely from a dozen gashes made by cruel claws, rending the flesh of its prey, its next meal. She was dizzy as she crashed to her knees next to him. All the color had gone out of his face. His eyes were closed.  
  
"Hermione, is he? Is he dead?" asked Ginny Weasley with a quaver in her voice. She remained standing, clutching her wand in one hand and the books to her chest. She was very pale again and was trembling terribly.  
  
"No, but this ... this is very bad." said Hermione.  
  
"What are we going to do? More will be coming."  
  
Hermione nodded that she understood that and rose to her feet.  
  
"_Mobilicorpus_." she spoke.  
  
Severus's body drifted into an upright position and floated slightly above the floor. Blood dripped from his wounds and splattered on the floor with a sickening sound.  
  
"Forget the books, Ginny, and help me move him. We've got to be fast. I imagine that these creatures can smell blood." said Hermione.  
  
"No, I can't leave them behind, not after he has gone through this to get them." said Ginny.  
  
"Right. Watch our backs then." agreed Hermione, admiring the younger girl's sudden mettle.  
  
  
They could hear far off cries as they moved the unconscious professor through the halls toward the safety of the dungeons, moving as quickly as possible. Ginny trailed with her wand clutched high in one hand, watching for any sign of pursuit, while Hermione expended all of her energy to hurry the floating professor along. They were leaving a trail of blood in their wake. And that wasn't the worst of it. Hermione could hear the sound of Snape's breathing becoming increasingly labored. She wasn't sure if they could save him, even if they managed to get him back to the rooms safely.  
  
Hermione had taken some mediwitch classes. She had completed two of them before the first battle with Voldemort, qualifying her to assist in the hospital wing during the aftermath of that confrontation. And she had taken a third since then, but that hardly qualified her to deal with something so serious as this. She could mend bones and remove hexes with the best of them, but this was far more terrifying.   
  
Ginny, she realized, looked almost as though she was going to faint every time she glanced at the wounds on their professor's exposed chest. She would be precious little help. Remus was going to a werewolf for many long hours. Hermione would not be able to depend on him either.  
  
Hermione felt a tingle of relief as they entered the sanctuary of the wards again, but it was brief. Ginny dropped her books by the door and frantically began helping Hermione move Severus onto the bed in the other room. It was as good of a place as any to begin the task of trying to save Severus's life. Hermione released the spell. There was a soft thud as he settled onto the mattress.  
  
Hermione sat down on the bed next to him and began murmuring quiet healing spells. She only knew mild spells designed to heal superficial injuries and ease pain. She peeled away the bloody and tattered robes, slipping them from his shoulders even as she continued to murmur the incantations. Another set of hands, Ginny's, began to help her, peeling the cloth away from the wounds. The girl knew many useful charms and a veritable arsenal of hexes, but she had never trained to be a mediwitch. She simply didn't have the stomach for it.  
  
"Ginny, do you know what healing potions look like?" Hermione asked. Her forehead was covered with beaded perspiration. She couldn't manage much more of this. The strain was horrific.  
  
"Yes." answered Ginny.  
  
"Go and fetch some for me then, please." said Hermione, drying her face on her robes. Ginny nodded and raced from the room to obey.  
  
The wounds, the deep gashes across his chest, were no longer bleeding freely, but bleeding they still were. Hermione touched his face. He was cold to the touch. And his breaths though less labored were still ragged. She gathered the torn robes in her shaking hands and tossed them aside, blood streaking her hands as she did so. She shivered. So much blood.  
  
A soft canine whine at her elbow caused her to start. It was Remus, awakened by Ginny no doubt. She smiled at him, but tears filled her eyes. The werewolf placed his front paws on the bed and leaned toward Severus, nosing his ear gently and whining again. The potions' professor's head lolled to the side.  
  
"He wanted the books we had left behind." said Hermione, taking a deep breath. "I didn't try hard enough to talk him out of it. I guess you can see what happened." She was trying desperately not to cry in front of Remus.  
  
He placed a paw on her knee and gave her a very meaningful look that said in no uncertain terms, "You aren't responsible for this."  
  
"I know." Hermione whispered, taking up her wand again and beginning the healing spells again with trembling hands.  
  
Only a few minutes later she heard the sound of Ginny returning with the potions. The glass bottles clinked softly as she placed them upon the bed. Hermione ceased her efforts and picked up one of the glass containers.  
  
"Very good, Ginny." she said softly, uncorking the bottle.  
  
Remus moved away from the bed to let them work. Ginny had brought some clean cloths with the bottles of healing and wound cleaning solution. They applied the potions carefully, watching the wounds smoke and begin to close. Hermione sighed softly with relief as the bleeding finally stopped. Ginny on the other hand was sniffling quietly and trying very hard to hide the fact that she was crying.  
  
"Is he going to be all right?" she asked in a trembling voice.  
  
"I don't know." said Hermione honestly, feeling his skin again. The warmth had yet to return, but then he had lost so much blood.  
  
"What will happen ... what if he dies here, Hermione? Will his soul be trapped in here with those things forever?" asked Ginny quietly.  
  
Hermione looked at her with a stunned expression on her face. This was what Ginny was crying about? Not the copious amount of blood, not the terror of the experience, but rather something so simple and yet so complicated as their potions' professor's soul? For that Hermione had no answer.  
  
Remus padded over to Ginny and nuzzled her hand.  
  
"Why don't the two of you ... get some rest or something to eat?" suggested Hermione as Ginny wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her robes. "I can keep an eye on him." she added.  
  
Ginny nodded mutely and followed Remus back to the parlor with one hand on the werewolf's back. Remus would be able to calm her down, Hermione told herself before turning her attention back to Severus.  
  
"No, I'm certainly not going to let you die in here." she told him, pulling the covers up around him to keep the chill away. "Certainly not." said Hermione.  
  
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A/N: I've got nothing. Next chapter: the fall out from this horrible debacle.  
  
  
Helen: I haven't read very many Albus/Minerva stories (possibly because they are so hard to find). I'm glad you like what I'm doing with the pairing here. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Witchy-grrl: "Who knew getting books could be so life-threatening??!!!" Amazing! If that wasn't a sign of things to come ... I hate to think I'm that predictable though. And I think that Remus would be just adorable as a werewolf, so long as he's had his potion. Cute _and_ dangerous otherwise. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Michelle: I'm pleased to hear that you like the pairings. I wasn't sure how well Albus and Minerva would go over. But I think it's sweet too. Thanks for the review!  
  
Mercurial: Why arrogant? Well, mostly because I haven't finished up with this story and I'm already planning a companion story. But thanks for the encouragement. And the three points you mentioned about the previous chapter were exactly the reasons that the chapter had to be written. The Snape/Hermione relationship is in the works. Of course, with the way this chapter ends ... I know, it doesn't look great. Thank you for all of the ego stroking and the extra long review!  
  
clarity: Thank you for all the encouragement! Actually, all of the reviewers have been exceptionally nice. I just feel this uncanny need to explain my own logic perhaps more often than I should. It's always great to hear that I'm keeping people in character though. That is the biggest challenge (in my opinion) in fan fiction. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Aqua Child: Obviously they did need the luck and didn't have quite enough of it. Until I read PoA I always thought of werewolves as being a weird wolf-human hybrid thing. So that was weird for me and probably no one else. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Elektra Joradees Gamblin: Thank you for reviewing!  
  
  
Additional note: I was wondering if anyone knows of a yahoo group dedicated to Albus and Minerva. I was thinking about either joining one (if possible) or starting one (if there was interest). Any ideas? Email me: aerynalexander@excite.com  
  
  



	12. In which the long night passes

Chapter Twelve  
  
In which the long night passes  
  
  
  
Ginny collapsed in front of the couch by the fire, making a hiccuping sound as she tried to stop crying. Remus sat down next to her and rested his head against her shoulder. It was unfortunate that werewolves could not cry, or this one might have wept with her. He whined softly and touched her hand with his paw.   
  
Ginny was very fragile, he knew. Harry and Hermione had filled him in on the events of her first year. And she had been through a lot since then too. She had helped defend her classmates during the first battle with Voldemort. Ginny could be quite brave at times, but she was still only human.  
  
"I'm sorry, Remus. I just ... I never saw anyone torn up like that. And ... and I don't want him to die." Ginny explained. "He may not be a very nice person, but he's one of ours."  
  
The werewolf seemed to chuckle. Remus tried to give her a reassuring look, but that was no easy accomplishment for a werewolf. She sniffled a little less and put her arms around him.  
  
"Thank you, Remus." she whispered.  
  
He sighed as it became apparent that she wasn't going to let him go and prepared to spend the rest of the night like that as Ginny closed her eyes and snuggled closer to him.  
  
  
Hermione was having trouble keeping her eyes open as she sat watching Severus. The healing spells had taken a lot out of her. She wasn't accustomed to the strain of using so much magic at once. Madam Pomfrey had years of advanced training and practice behind her. Hermione had precious little of either experience or advanced classes. As the sleepiness became unbearable and she rubbed her eyes to stay awake, Hermione considered taking more classes and volunteering in the hospital wing.  
  
"Who knows, after all, how long the war might last and what I might be called upon to do." she thought, smoothing the covers absently and watching Severus breath in and out slowly.  
  
The pallor had not left his skin nor had warmth returned to him. Hermione cautiously lifted his hand from time to time, felt his pulse, and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. She had forced herself to blink away tears more than once. She had glimpsed the Dark Mark on his forearm earlier and turned his left arm so that the ugly reminder of his past was no longer so visible. It had felt eerily hot beneath her fingertips as they had grazed it. But it had not frightened her. She had known for sometime that he bore the Mark, but this was the first time that she had seen it close up and it saddened her somehow.  
  
"Because you are seeing more of a man in him now than a monster." her rather sleepy mind told her quite pointedly.  
  
She blushed slightly as she released his hand. There were hidden depths within that thought that Hermione did not wish to consider. They were too embarrassing. If she had begun to develop feelings for Severus Snape, the greasy git that had made her friends miserable for just short of seven years ... Her stomach flip-flopped slightly.  
  
"I'm tired. That's all. Maybe if I just close my eyes for a few minutes ..." she thought.  
  
  
When Hermione opened her eyes again, something was tickling her arm ever-so-slightly. She had fallen asleep. Reprimanding herself for her inattentiveness, she turned her head to see what was touching her arm and suddenly found herself staring into coal black eyes. She inhaled sharply as she realized that she was lying next to Severus. She had managed to move closer to him in her sleep.   
  
His fingertips barely touched her arm as he tried to get her attention. He could scarcely move because of the pain. He whimpered pathetically as she sat up and moved away. He continued to reach weakly toward her. His lips moved soundlessly. The pit of her stomach felt icy as she reached toward him and took his hand.  
  
"Hurts." he finally managed.  
  
"I know." she said, shushing him and squeezing his hand between both of her own before reaching for a light blue healing potion on the night stand. She had been afraid to give him anything orally the night before. She was afraid that he would have choked on it. "Here." she said, slipping a hand behind him to help him drink.  
  
Severus drank the potion without complaint. His dark eyes, full of pain when he had first awakened her, seemed slowly to fill with calm. The pain had dulled and receded. Hermione replaced the stopper and returned the bottle to the night stand. She hushed him again as he struggled to speak.  
  
"You shouldn't. You should just lie still." she cautioned him.  
  
"What happened?" he asked, ignoring her advice.  
  
"Do you remember the attack?"  
  
"Yes, but how did I get back here ... alive?"  
  
"Ginny and I managed it."  
  
He was silent as his eyes drifted toward the blanket that covered him. He was too weak to cast it aside, but he had the fierce and burning desire to see what the creature had done to him. He had the feeling that he had not injured it at all in their struggle, but he could remember the sharp claws that rent his flesh to the bone.  
  
"I want to see." he demanded.  
  
"It doesn't look all that bad." said Hermione.  
  
He looked at her quizzically and tried to ask a question, but couldn't. He wasn't sure what to say to her. She seemed rather pale and worn, not to mention worried.  
  
She peeled the blanket back for him so that he could see the deep, jagged red lines, all that remained of the savage injuries that had been inflicted upon him hardly eight hours earlier. He marveled. Her level of skill was greater than he had thought.  
  
"I imagine that Madam Pomfrey will be able to finish what Ginny and I started." said Hermione, replacing the covers.  
  
"You did well, Hermione." said Severus, closing his eyes.  
  
"Severus?" she questioned.  
  
He opened his eyes again.  
  
"The wards are weaker now. I believe that they will hold, but I will need to strengthen them ... when I can." he told her.  
  
"Let me. I know I can figure out how and ..."  
  
"No, Hermione, you have already done more than is good for you I think."  
  
"I'll be all right."  
  
"And so will I, thanks to you." he said.  
  
"And Ginny. She managed to keep up with her books this time too. She wanted to make sure that ... that all this wasn't in vain." said Hermione.  
  
"Good of her." commented Severus.  
  
"Are you tired?"  
  
"Very much so, but I don't want to close my eyes." he admitted hesitantly.  
  
"Why?"  
  
He was silent. Hermione could see some great debate going on in the very depths of his dark eyes. He was very private, very secretive, Hermione knew. He looked away from her with a soft, almost inaudible sigh.  
  
"Because I am afraid." he said in a low voice.  
  
"I will be here with you. You don't have to be afraid." she said.  
  
Severus smiled softly at her and nodded, "I know, Hermione, but ..."  
  
"None of that, Severus!" she admonished. "We can't go talking like that if we expect to get out of this mess."  
  
"You really believe that we will?" he questioned, touching her hand.   
  
Hermione suddenly seemed very grown-up for her years, wise and hopeful at the same time, and very much like stern and determined Minerva McGonagall. A smile played upon his lips for the second time.  
  
"I have every confidence in our abilities." she said firmly, giving his hand a squeeze. "Now can you perhaps try to rest?" Hermione asked, feigning annoyance, though there was a spark of laughter in her eyes that very nearly concealed the worry and doubt that she felt. She knew as well as anyone that their chances were not exceedingly good.  
  
"I can try."  
  
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A/N: I think Minerva and Hermione are a lot alike. I don't know if there are any comparisons in the books, but it's just something I see from time to time.  
  
  
JoeBob1379: You're welcome! I definitely would say that the wards are weaker, but so long as Severus is alive and Remus is cool, I think they should be fine. And, no, there was no Albus and Minerva group at yahoo. Operative word being 'was'. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Michelle: I have read "A Wrinkle in Time", but never "The Wind in the Door". I'll try to remember that the next time I am looking for a book to read. I honestly don't know what a healing potion would look like. A shot in the dark. Blue maybe? I hope the stuff wouldn't be clumpy and gross like Polyjuice Potions. As much as I like Potions class (because of Severus), making up potions is liking pulling teeth to me. I didn't think anyone would care either. And could Severus hear Hermione? Urg, people have been debating stuff like that for years. I don't want to touch that question myself as I generally, honestly believe that he would be able to hear her. Thanks for all the questions and insight!  
  
Mercurial: I don't think it would be like a werewolf bite, but I bet such a bite would be prone to infection. Gross. I don't think Snape will do an out of body experience, but that might be fun to try writing some other time. The Albus and Minerva story is probably going to be called "Another Time" (because I have resolved never to spend two or three days searching for a title again). Thanks for the thought and the review!   
  
Helen: I always image Hermione as being strong. I don't know exactly why. Thank you for the review!  
  
lil pixie: I am almost an equal fan of Severus and Remus. Thanks for the review!  
  
Multiple Lilys: Thank you for the compliments!  
  
Aine Deande: I'm glad you're enjoying the story and find the characterizations acceptable, although I think Severus might be a little too nice in this chapter. The secret to writing Severus is the Professor Snape action figure on my desk. Thank you for all the compliments *blushes*!  
  
Aqua Child: The kissing might come a little later ... Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Witchy-grrl: No one is ever safe in my stories. I imagine that in the proper circumstances that Ginny could probably run very fast (brothers, athletic family, so forth). But these are sneaky creatures too, you know. Thank you for the review!  
  
Notice: I decided to start an Albus/Minerva group at yahoo because I do impulsive things sometimes. Here is the address:  
  
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AlbusandMinerva/  
  
Anyone and everyone is welcome to join! Thanks!  
  
  



	13. In which certain crushes are discussed

Chapter Thirteen  
  
In which certain crushes are discussed  
  
  
  
Ginny awakened sometime later. The first thing that she realized was that she had an awful crick in her neck from sleeping on the rug. The second realization was that there was a pair of arms encircling her waist and someone's knees were tucked securely beneath her own. Her heart began beating wildly until she remembered falling asleep next to Remus in his werewolf form. He had changed back when the moon had set. Ginny relaxed. Part of her wanted to remove his arms, hopefully without waking him, and get up so that she could stretch and rub her aching neck, but mostly she just wanted to stay there, warm and safe while he continued to sleep.  
  
But it was not to be. Only a few minutes later she felt Remus stir behind her. He slowly removed his arms from her waist and sat up. She sighed and rolled onto her back and looked up at him. He was blushing slightly as he adjusted the collar of his trademark shabby robes.  
  
"Good morning, Ginny. I trust you slept well." he said.  
  
"Quite well, thank you." she said, rubbing her sore neck and yawning.  
  
"Yes, you look much better this morning, less pale. Very good."  
  
"And you look more like yourself." she commented with a half smile.  
  
He chuckled good-naturedly and replied, "Why thank you, Ginny, what a nice thing to say." Few people could make him smile about his condition, about being a werewolf, but Ginny seemed to be able to make him smile about almost anything.  
  
Her eyes drifted from his smiling, but still vaguely pink face to the door of the bedroom as she remembered the night before. Remus noted her gaze and offered her a hand up as he stood.  
  
"We should check on them." said Ginny, becoming more serious.  
  
"Hermione told me what happened last night. The two of you were quite brave." commented Remus.  
  
"No, Severus was brave. I don't think Hermione and I would have risked going out there, at least not without all of us going. He didn't hesitate. He knew what he wanted and did what he had to get it."  
  
"The books?" questioned Remus, acknowledging that the Slytherin mind set occasionally came in handy.  
  
"Yes. I piled them over there." she said, pointing toward the door.  
  
"I will take a look at them after we check on Severus and Hermione." he said, glancing over the couch at the stack of books.  
  
  
Hermione was still sitting on the bed and watching Severus sleep when they walked into the bedroom, which was doubling as something of a hospital room too. She had been sitting there for sometime, contemplating many things, including their situation, Snape's condition, and that peculiar fluttering in her stomach that she had once associated only with the late Viktor Krum.   
  
Ginny walked around to the other side of the bed and looked at Severus rather approvingly. He remained pale, but not deathly so. He merely appeared to be somewhat ill, which was an incredible improvement from the previous evening. At first Ginny had been convinced that Severus was going to die. Even when Hermione had sent her away, she had been unsure whether he would make it or not.  
  
Remus laid a hand on Hermione's shoulder as he also took a good look at Severus. His wolf-eyes had not been mistaken the night before. The injuries were grave. The scent of the blood had been like a very powerful presence. Even controlled by the Wolfsbane potion, it had toyed with his senses, and for that he could not help but to feel a little bit guilty. But this morning the wounds were closed, and the ferric scent of blood was almost absent from the air.  
  
"Hermione, have you ever considered becoming a mediwitch?" Remus asked her.  
  
"Actually, no, not before last night." she said.  
  
"Well, perhaps you should." he chuckled. "Severus looks much improved this morning."  
  
"I'm glad you think so." said Severus, opening his eyes.  
  
The look of utter surprise and astonishment on Remus's face was well worth interrupting his nap. Severus smirked slightly, obviously still too weak to manage a full on sneer. He struggled into a sitting position, earning a mild glare from Hermione, who moved to slip a pillow behind his back.  
  
"And what are you all doing in here? Shouldn't _someone_ be working on an escape plan or something?" he groused, suddenly aware that they were all looking at him with concern facial expressions, or, in Hermione's case, a smile. It was somewhat embarrassing.  
  
Remus chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder, and said, "Severus, we're in here because you're hurt and we are concerned about you. And, yes, we should be working on getting out here, but we will most certainly need your help to do that."  
  
"In that case bring some of my books in here, would you?" he asked.  
  
Hermione hid her widening smile behind her hand as Ginny dashed into the parlor to obey his request.  
  
"Are you sure you are quite up to it, old fellow?" asked Remus.  
  
"We're the same age! I insist that you not call me 'old' nor 'fellow' for that matter." said Snape with almost forced grumpiness.  
  
"All right." Remus chuckled.  
  
"Really, Severus, he does have a point. You _are_ hurt, and you should be resting." said Hermione diplomatically.  
  
"Reading in bed shouldn't prove too strenuous." Severus replied. "If only taking house points weren't so absurd in this situation." he muttered just loud enough for them to hear.  
  
Ginny returned with the books and placed them on the stand by the bed. Severus reached for one and winced.  
  
"Here." said Hermione, passing the book to him.  
  
"That one is for Remus. I want the one on the bottom of the stack." he said, touching his chest gingerly.  
  
"Of course you do." said Hermione, getting the book for him. "And I suppose you want me to find some robes while I'm at it." she said with a smirk, one that Severus recognized all too well. She had borrowed it off of him.  
  
"I wouldn't dream of inconveniencing you." he said, seeming to flush slightly pink when Ginny happened to giggle.  
  
"Severus, I'm sure you dream of inconveniencing Gryffindors every night, but believe me when I say that you are no trouble at all right now." said Hermione, slipping from the bed and walking over to the wardrobe in the corner.  
  
"Come, Ginny, I do believe I could use some help with this." said Remus with a smile as he hefted the book that Severus had recommended that he take.  
  
Ginny was practically skipping as she followed him out, closing the door as she left the bedroom.  
  
"Ugh! That poor girl has an unhealthy fascination with Remus!" said Snape distastefully.  
  
"Ginny. Ginny is her name. And she has a crush on him." Hermione corrected.  
  
"Well, whatever you call it, I find it most disturbing."  
  
"Lots of girls have crushes or have had crushes on Professor Lupin."  
  
"What for? They all know that he becomes a dangerous ..."  
  
"Three nights a month. But the rest of the time he is a gentle, amiable man with friendly eyes and a very sweet smile."  
  
"You have a ... a thing for him too?" asked Snape as she opened the wardrobe and sifted through its contents. She was almost certain that he sounded jealous.  
  
"I do not! I prefer my men a little ... a little more, you know ..."  
  
"No, I'm sure I don't."  
  
"I like darker men."  
  
"Well, he is a Dark Creature, you know." Severus pointed out.  
  
"That isn't what I meant and you know it." she said, removing a set of robes from the wardrobe. "How about this?"  
  
"They're purple."  
  
"They could pass for black."  
  
"No."  
  
"You're impossible. Dark green then?"  
  
"Fair enough."  
  
She brought the robes over to the bed and held them up to get an idea of the size. The Slytherin head of house circa 1945 was probably a little over two meters tall and perhaps a bit broader about the shoulders than Severus. The name 'Krohn' had been stitched inside the collar of the robe. They would be a bit large for Severus, but they would fit well enough for a few days' wear. Hermione shivered at the thought of being trapped there any longer than that.  
  
Severus pushed the blankets aside and glanced down at his blood spotted pants, frowning. It wasn't as though he never spilled anything on his clothes or that he was so terribly concerned about stains. It simply was unpleasant to see so much of one's own blood on any garment. He had survived torture by what could surely be considered a master torturer, but the Cruciatus curse had seldom involved bleeding.   
  
He was lost in thought until he felt Hermione lift his arm and guide it into a sleeve. She pulled the garment around him and lifted his left arm to do the same. He jerked his arm from her hand and held it to his chest. For a moment she thought she had somehow hurt him. Then she saw the vague and ugly outline of the Dark Mark.  
  
"Severus, don't be so silly." she sighed, taking his arm again and forcing it quickly into the sleeve.  
  
"Why are you doing this?" he asked blankly as she began buttoning his robes.  
  
"Dressing you? Because you are injured and you need my help. Certainly not for any thanks."  
  
"No, I know the logical reason why you're doing this. I want to know ... what motivates you."  
  
"It could be called kindness or compassion perhaps." she said a little color creeping into her cheeks.  
  
"Yes, that's it exactly. Why are you being kind to me? I've never treated you very well."  
  
"Oh ... well, it's simple. You have tried, though not very successfully, to treat the three of us in a civil fashion since we've been in here. I am returning the courtesy, I suppose."  
  
Severus caught her hands clumsily as she straightened the collar of the forest green robes, and asked, "Is that the only reason?" His ebony eyes were strangely searching.  
  
Hermione had the sudden impulse to tell him that it wasn't. She wanted to tell him that she had an unhealthy fascination with him and see the look on his face. Of course, she knew she couldn't, just _couldn't_ tell Professor Snape that, no matter what realm of existence they were trapped in. Whether in heaven or hell, he would never ... could never possibly share similar feelings. His jealousy of Remus Lupin was one thing. His feelings toward her, she was certain, were another entirely.  
  
"Yes." she answered, blinking rapidly and looking away. It was the most difficult lie she had ever told.  
  
Fortunately, he didn't quite believe her. He simply released her hands and nodded.  
  
"Thank you, Hermione."  
  
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A/N: I hope that 'a crush' is not an Americanism. If it is, I am so sorry, but I couldn't figure out a noun form of the verb phrase 'to fancy', which is British (I think).  
  
  
Arime Setta: I am very pleased to know that you are enjoying the story. I really like writing Hermione as strong and brave (like the Gryffindor she is). Thank you for review!  
  
Rosmerta: I bet Snape knows some good ones. But the again, Remus probably does too. Between the two of them, they probably have quite the arsenal. Thanks for the review!  
  
Black Sparkles: There will be more. Don't worry. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
JoeBob1379: Ginny/Remus is my favorite unconventional pairing. (I think everyone has gotten into SS/HG too much to call it that now, though I still love it too). Thank you very much for the compliments and the review!  
  
coolgirlchick16: I really appreciate that! I like so many pairings myself that it's starting to get a bit silly. Thanks again!  
  
Freedom Rhodes: That puzzles me. I wonder what exactly you've noticed. I love the details (can't see the forest for the trees), so that happens sometimes. Little things coming back, I mean. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Yukito Forever: Those are the best kind! Thank you!  
  
Lexia: I assure you that I am not the first Ginny/Remus person. There are others. But I really like the idea myself. I like Remus a lot and I feel sorry for Ginny (CoS, you know?) so pairing them together is like fixing things a little (for both of them, I guess). I like to fix things. I'm weird that way. I bet that makes no sense to anyone but me. Thank you for the review!  
  
  



	14. In which another search begins

Chapter Fourteen  
  
In which another search begins  
  
  
  
Albus Dumbledore had found the answer. It was about an hour before breakfast, but he had finally located the information he needed. The sound of hurried steps caused him to raise his eyes from the book. Minerva McGonagall looked as though she had dressed in quite a rush.  
  
"I'm here, Albus. What have you discovered?" she questioned.  
  
"Your hair net, Minerva." he coughed quietly.  
  
She quickly removed the offending article and stuffed it into a pocket.  
  
"Well?"  
  
"The Founders created a set of six mirrors to serve as emergency exits for humans caught in the demon's prison. They were placed strategically throughout the castle as gateways between worlds. Humans cannot enter through them. Demons cannot exit. They can only be activated by incantation. I have the spell here." Dumbledore told her. "The only real trouble is getting it to them."  
  
"And you have a plan?" asked McGonagall.  
  
"Of course. First we locate the mirrors. We will be able to see into the other world even if we cannot enter it." said Dumbledore.  
  
"But, Albus, there must be hundreds of mirrors in the castle! It might take days!" she said.  
  
"We will recruit some assistance. Mister Potter and Weasley have been especially upset since the disappearance of their friends. And the rest of the staff will search with us. I am certain that we can cover much of the castle in a relatively short amount of time."  
  
"Of course. How are the mirrors activated?"  
  
"Two sharp taps with a wand in the center. Very simple, you see."  
  
"Quite. Finding them will be the only problem."  
  
"Indeed. Begin assembling the searchers and give them their instructions. Leave no mirror untapped." said Dumbledore.  
  
Minerva nodded that she understood. Then she took a deep breath and drew herself up to her full height.  
  
"I don't regret kissing you one bit, Albus Dumbledore. If you weren't such an old coot, I might do it again." she told him.  
  
"I was old then too, you know." he said with some amusement. He had certainly gotten Minerva's goat.  
  
"At least you didn't look it back in those days." she retorted, turning on her heel and leaving the office.  
  
Yes, that was going to disturb Minerva quite profoundly and for sometime.  
  
  
Harry and Ron were seated in a secluded corner of the common room with very depressed looks on their faces. It wasn't long before breakfast would be served. The house elves were bring it up. Classes had been canceled and students were strongly encouraged to remain in their dormitories. Most of the other students looked a bit subdued as well. Two of their house mates were missing as well as one of their dearest professors. Not even the fact that Snape was missing too could cheer them up. Harry glanced at the Marauder's Map, which they had taken to studying as a means of watching the searches and looking for any sign of the missing themselves, and noted that Professor McGonagall was approaching the tower.  
  
"Mischief ... managed." Harry sighed, clearing the map and putting it away.  
  
"Think she will have any news?" questioned Ron, who looked even more miserable than Harry.  
  
His mother and father had come to the school the night before. He had only seen his mother that upset once or twice in his life. And he had never seen his father break down before. The times were trying. The war was on. The Ministry was in shambles. And then his daughter goes missing again. Percy had taken them home after a brief visit with Ron. He had been substantially less shaken up, but that was Percy. It was worse than the last time Ginny was missing, worse than the end of his second year by far.  
  
"Potter, Weasley, come with me, if you please." said Professor McGonagall sternly. "And see that you have your wands." she added.  
  
"Yes, professor." they answered, excitement and interest in their voices for the first time in days.  
  
"I trust you will both behave responsibly, as your friends' lives may depend on it. The headmaster has asked me to recruit you both to help the staff make another search of the castle."  
  
"You can count on us." said Ron.  
  
"I hope so, Mister Weasley." said McGonagall.  
  
  
Within minutes of being given instructions, Harry and Ron found themselves walking through the castle in search of mirrors. They didn't entirely understand what Professor McGonagall had told them, but they endeavored to follow her instructions to the letter. Their friends, as well as a man Harry considered a reluctant ally at the very best, were stuck in a very scary place that could only be reached through six special mirrors, so they would find those mirrors. Simple as that.  
  
"Damn!" Ron swore as he finished tapping the twentieth mirror with no result. He could still see his reflection and nothing more.  
  
"Sorry, dear." said the looking glass.  
  
"Come on. We need to pick up the pace." said Harry.  
  
"Then why don't we split up?"  
  
"McGonagall wanted us together to avoid overlooking hidden mirrors and stuff."  
  
"No, she wanted you to keep an eye on me, make sure I don't do it wrong somehow." said Ron rather bitterly. "All because I'm not a star student."  
  
"How many other students are helping with this search? Just prefects, right?" asked Harry very coolly and logically, something he had picked up from Hermione over the years.  
  
"You're insufferable, Harry." sighed Ron as they stepped into another unused office.  
  
"Thank you. It's nice to be appreciated."  
  
Harry walked over to a dusty mirror and rubbed its surface clear with his sleeve. He was quite hopeful as the mirror seemed to be very old.  
  
"What if we can't find them?"  
  
"Someone else will." said Harry stubbornly.  
  
"Find what?" asked the mirror.  
  
"Oh, a couple of special mirrors." Harry answered it absently before giving it a couple of sharp taps with his wand.  
  
"You're looking for the _special_ mirrors then." it accused moodily. "A plain, ordinary looking glass isn't good enough for you, is it?"  
  
"Er, not at the moment. Do you know where they are? The ones the Founders enchanted?" asked Harry.  
  
"Well, at least one of them was broken ages ago. They wanted me to replace it. But the old magic had been forgotten. I can't see the demon world for you, if that's what you're after." said the looking glass. "I can only see the foundation of the groundskeeper's hut." it added irritably. "Dank and dirty and ..."  
  
"But you don't know where the others are?" interrupted Harry.  
  
"Not exactly ... But I heard once ... long ago ... that Salazar Slytherin liked to watch _them_." said the looking glass.  
  
"There weren't any mirrors in the Chamber of Secrets, were there, Harry?"  
  
"Not that I remember."  
  
"What about the Slytherin dormitories?"  
  
"I'm sure the prefects checked there."  
  
"What about Snape's office and rooms?"  
  
"Brilliant! I bet almost no one would dare go in there without Snape's permission." said Harry. As they ran for the door, Harry called over his shoulder to the mirror, "Thanks!"  
  
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A/N: Well, that wasn't much fun. Necessary though. And I have not been able to upload because of technical difficulties. Sorry about that!  
  
  
anonymous reviewer: I have always use a dotted line to separate the fic and the notes, which I assumed would take care of anyone who had no desire to read the end notes and so forth. Many fan fic authors whose works I read do very nearly the same thing. I am sorry if you have been offended or inconvenienced in any way, but I cannot post a chapter of notes for every chapter of text.  
  
Pidgie: Thank you very much for the review!  
  
Astraea: Hermione manages to put up with Harry and Ron, so I would guess that she has a lot of patience. Thanks for the review!  
  
JoeBob1379: There are people who don't approve of SS/HG? Oh, the horror! On the issue of British slang (one of my major failings), I just wish I had the time and diligence to sit down and wade through all the Brit Picker columns out there. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Aine Deande: You have a friend who *gasps* doesn't like Snape or even Alan Rickman as Snape (or maybe I've drawn the wrong conclusion)? You must get her some help, and quickly! Just kidding. I am very flattered that both you and your friend are enjoying the story so much! Thank you!  
  
Black Sparkles: Those alternatives sound pretty good. I might have to go and make some changes. Thanks!  
  
Arime Setta: I will try and find them a change of scenery if at all possible. I suppose the SS/HG ship does require some compassion. Thanks for the review!  
  
Rhianna: I'm glad you're enjoying the story! Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Helen: Thanks for the help with the British stuff! I will go back and make changes of some kind soon.  
  
  
  



	15. In which there is a kiss and a bit of go...

Chapter Fifteen  
  
In which there is a kiss and a bit of good luck  
  
  
  
Ginny and Remus sat on the couch by the fire, flipping through the book that Severus had insisted that Remus take and searching it for any information, any clue that might help them. It wasn't a potions' book. It was merely a magical history text from the time of the Founders. Actually it was a reprint, but Snape had considered it important enough to risk his life for. And he did not take such risks out of idle fancy.  
  
Even as he read and skimmed through the text, Remus was aware, keenly aware, of Virginia Weasley watching him out of the corner of her eye as she read through the book with him. Her long red hair cascaded over one shoulder, catching the light of the fire and the dancing shadows. She was the loveliest distraction he had ever had keep him from concentrating fully upon his work, at least since the days of a certain green-eyed redhead, who had tormented him during his school days before she discovered a certain dark-hared Quidditch player. Remus suppressed a sigh. What was it with him and girls with locks of bright auburn?  
  
And Ginny was very much aware of him too, though she struggled terribly to keep her mind on the book and finding a solution to their predicament. She could feel his warm breath, a strong contrast to the cool dungeon air, as he leaned over to examine a particular paragraph more closely. She moved closer to him, sliding the large book that they held between them closer as well. He nodded his thanks silently and appeared to continue reading.  
  
She had liked Remus for a very long time, since her second year in fact, but then he had gone away, and she thought that she would never see him again. Then he had returned! But now she was older, wiser, and more grown-up. The fact that her brother and his friends liked to treat her like a little girl couldn't change that. Nothing could. She had grown up fast because of the war and other things. Some of her professors, McGonagall for instance, had recognized this, but she wasn't certain that Remus had. And that was very unfortunate, in her opinion.  
  
Of course, she realized, Remus was quite a bit older and her professor, but there had always been rumors about students and teachers. They said that Professor Sinistra had lost a lover during the first attack Voldemort had made upon the castle. He had been a seventh year Ravenclaw and a few weeks shy of eighteen. Someone had said that Sinistra was going to marry him after graduation, but that was a bit far-fetched, although it was a very romantic notion. Professor Sinistra had not been quite the same since. And when Ginny was in her first year there had been handsome and popular Professor Lockhart. She had heard a number of sixth year students exchanging more than just the usual gossip about him in quiet corners. And it was common knowledge that Madam Hooch's spouse was a good ten to fifteen years her junior. How had that happened unless she had married a student or more likely a former student? There were many ways, of course, but that was the going theory.  
  
But all of this was presuming that Remus was even interested in her. Ginny had seen precious little evidence to suggest that she was anything more than one of his favorite students and that possibly because she was Harry's friend and Ron's sister, except perhaps for that morning and that was not particularly good evidence.  
  
Remus could tell by the expression on Ginny's face, and her face always seemed very expressive to him, that she was thinking about more than the book in front of them. She looked sad. She wasn't afraid or pale anymore. She simply looked dispirited and a little down. Remus closed the book and put his arm around her shoulders.  
  
"Homesick, Ginny?" he guessed.  
  
She laughed softly as she looked up into his eyes and answered, "No, not really. It's hard to be homesick in a place that looks exactly like home, or at least Hogwarts. I always think of the school as my home away from home, but then they do say that home is where the heart is."  
  
"Then you must miss your brother and Harry."  
  
"A bit." she admitted. "But I don't mind the company here either."  
  
"You don't?"  
  
"I've enjoyed spending time with you, Remus. I mean, I would be enjoying it a lot more if circumstances were a little less desperate."  
  
Remus leaned closer to her and said, "I know, Ginny."  
  
"But I want to make the best of it." she said, looking into his golden brown eyes.  
  
The impulse to kiss him was sudden, and it was undoubtedly brought on by their close proximity and perhaps even the very desperation of which she had spoken. One minute she was staring into his eyes. The next, their lips were touching, and she closed her eyes, savoring the softness and tenderness with which he returned the kiss. Then he suddenly stopped and pulled away.  
  
Remus didn't know what had come over him. It was still early in the day to blame the wolfish part of his nature. Why had he kissed her? No, wait. Had she just kissed him? Remus was a little confused as he pulled away from her, breaking the blissful contact and feeling hungry for more at the same time. He could see disappointment as she opened her eyes, painful disappointment and confusion.  
  
"Remus, professor, I'm so sorry ... I didn't mean to ..."  
  
"No, it's fine." he told her, touching her lips with his fingertips. He didn't want to hear her apologize. Far from it. "I'm glad you did it actually." he said with a slightly sheepish smile.  
  
"You are?"  
  
"It isn't every day that a beautiful young woman gives me a kiss."  
  
Ginny giggled and said, "Maybe it should be."  
  
Remus raised his eyebrows. That was a rather bold statement coming from her.  
  
It was also something that Lupin had seldom heard, even when he was her age. He had been a shy youth with few friends. There were the Marauders and Lily Evans, of course, but few girls had been interested in the thin and frail young man with the piercing, yet doubtful eyes. Then when he reached adulthood, Remus had found few of his peers, and very few women, who could deal with his condition, with lycanthropy. It had been too hard for them to accept, although at least a couple of them had tried and failed. Even after the invention of the Wolfsbane potion, everyone wanted to keep their distance. And now here was this lovely young woman who had known of his condition for a long time and had even seen and accepted him in werewolf form telling him that he deserved to be kissed, and all of the comfort and affection that that implied. It was like a dream come true.  
  
This time it was Remus who kissed Ginny.  
  
  
Meanwhile, in the other room where an extremely bright Gryffindor and a dutiful Slytherin were still poring over aged tomes of magic, Severus shuddered involuntarily. Hermione glanced up from her book with worry written plainly upon her features. She tried to say something both questioning and comforting to Severus, who grimaced and waved her away. Not one to give up very easily, she felt his forehead and grasped his wrist to take his pulse.  
  
"I'm perfectly all right. It's the wards, you silly girl!" he told her, shooing her away before bellowing, "Lupin! Whatever you're doing in there, stop it this instant!" For a moment Severus could have sworn that he heard the inexplicable sound of Ginny Weasley giggling rather loudly.  
  
"The wards?" Hermione questioned, wincing at the sound of Severus yelling very loudly and nearly in her ear.  
  
"Yes. Do you want me to describe the sensation? Would that make you happy?"  
  
"Yes and no." she replied coolly, taking the book from his lap and marking his place in it.  
  
"Imagine that you can sense through the walls, the floors, and the ceiling and behind them you sense demons, perhaps the entire hoard. They have their claws and ears pressed against these boundaries, straining desperately to hear something, concentrating all of their will of this endeavor. My skin prickles as they listen, like phantom claws tickling and prodding every inch of me. It is not painful in the traditional sense of the word, but it is quite uncomfortable." Severus explained to her.  
  
"Can I do anything?" Hermione questioned.  
  
Severus glanced toward the bath and suggested, "You can allow me to leave this bed."  
  
"Can you manage it?"  
  
"I believe so."  
  
"Very well."  
  
Severus slid from the bed and stood rather unsteadily on his feet for a moment before taking a step forward. Hermione moved very quickly to catch him before his knees and buckled and he fell. He tried steady himself against her with a look in his eyes that she could only identify as shame. Hermione held him until he managed to gain his feet again.  
  
"Let me help you. I swear, Severus, that I don't want to embarrass you. I just want to help you." she told him with a quietly pleading tone in her voice.  
  
"That's all you've wanted since we came here." he observed, putting an arm across her shoulders. A firm and guiding arm encircled his waist.  
  
"It isn't a crime, you know." she told him, stepping forward as he did, moving slowly and patiently.  
  
"I suppose not."  
  
"For a moment there I thought you were going to say that it should be." she chuckled.  
  
As they reached the door to bath, Severus removed his arm and grasped the door frame, using it to support him. The few steps from the bed had felt like a mile. The only good thing about it was that the prickling had lessened when she touched him. He had had something else to concentrate on perhaps.  
  
"Thank you." he said stiffly before retreating into the room and closing the door.  
  
Hermione smiled and shook her head. It was so difficult for him to say those two words. She could hardly blame him. It wasn't easy for anyone to admit they needed help and surely a thousand times more difficult than that for a Slytherin to be grateful for it. She didn't want him to be grateful. She only wanted him to be all right, even if that meant that he was his usual ill-tempered self. She was quite used to that. Although the man with washed hair and a less sharp tongue was rather refreshing, not to mention appealing.  
  
She found herself blushing again. Was it really so difficult to accept these feelings? She had to wonder.  
  
"Of course, if he knew, he would only make fun, regardless of how he felt himself, and once we're out of here, I would never hear the end of it, and I plan to teach at Hogwarts someday. He would make my life utterly wretched. I know it." she told herself, half realizing that she was lying, or at least exaggerating. Severus was so complicated, such a complex person, that it was difficult to judge what he would do.  
  
As Hermione pondered these thoughts, she walked over to the looking glass on the wall adjacent to the door to the bath, intending to check her hair and see if it really looked as bad as she imagined.  
  
When she looked into the ancient looking glass, her jaw dropped. Hermione couldn't believe what she was seeing!  
  
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A/N: I know. That's a rotten place to leave it. But I'm having an evil weekend.  
  
  
Black Sparkles: Your wish is my command. No really, but it worked out that way. Thanks for the review!  
  
Rosmerta: The touched-by-Darkness theme is popular in a lot of Ginny/Remus or /Snape stories. I think it's kind of cool. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Yukito Forever: Thank you very much for the review!  
  
Redone: The last chapter was supposed to be transitional, kind of. Sorry it was short! Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Aine Deande: The hair net thing came from one of the books (I think PoA). Yep, the story is Lucius-free (except that he was mentioned in an earlier chapter). It takes quite a bit of daring to write him. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Helen: Thank you!  
  
Serpenthe: I cannot leave a story alone, which is why I'm posting slowly: I keep changing and rewriting things. I have never read a Minerva/Tom. Are there any good ones? I read a couple of Ginny/Remus stories a few months ago. I think a number of them were unfinished. It's a fairly unique ship right now, but I bet there will be more of them once the next movie comes out (and people have a face to put with Remus and Ginny is older). The reason Snape has become a bit nicer in the last chapters can probably be readily attributed to the blood loss (it takes more energy to be mean) and healing potions (all drugged up). It's nice to hear that you like the chapter titles. I don't know if I should post a link or update at WIKTT since SS/HG is only one of three pairings. Thank you very much for the review!  
  
Dixiehnsnluver: Thank you for reviewing!  
  
coolgirlchic16: I am glad to hear that you like the pairings! Thanks for the review!  
  
  
For people who like the Albus/Minerva pairing, visit:  
  
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AlbusandMinerva/   
  
  



	16. In which mostly good news is received

Chapter Sixteen  
  
In which mostly good news is received  
  
  
  
Hermione couldn't believe what she was seeing in the mirror. It wasn't herself, looking very rumpled and tired. It was Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall and Harry and Ron. The latter two were staring at her with slightly relieved and somewhat smug smiles. She watched Harry move his mouth and grin at the headmaster who nodded slowly. Hermione narrowed her eyes as she realized that she could see them and not hear them and that they obviously could see her too.  
  
"This is incredible!" she laughed aloud, tears springing to her eyes as she saw their faces. They were glad and hopeful tears.  
  
"What the devil are you going on about?" asked Severus irately from the bathroom.  
  
The door opened as she turned.  
  
"You have to see this!" she said, striding toward him and grabbing him by the arm as she hauled him toward the mirror. "Look!" she told him, throwing an arm around his midsection as she pulled, not wanting him to stumble.  
  
Severus was feeling momentarily annoyed by Hermione's behavior, but that was forgotten as he saw colleagues and students in the mirror. He could not remember the last time he felt so elated and relieved. He laughed aloud and squeezed Hermione's shoulders.  
  
"You old devil! I should have known you'd find a way to get to us!" he laughed, wagging a finger at Professor Dumbledore.  
  
The headmaster gestured to his ears and shook his head, looking very amused all the while.  
  
"He can't hear us." said Hermione.  
  
"Bother!" said Snape.  
  
"They're only laughing, dear. Not saying much at all." said the mirror.  
  
"Can you talk to them too?" asked Hermione excitedly.  
  
"Of course. I am a magical looking glass, after all." it said a bit primly.  
  
"Tell them to get us out of here." said Severus, who was beginning to calm down again.  
  
They saw Albus and Minerva look at one another. Severus had known them both long enough to detect worry in those glances. Dumbledore's lips moved.  
  
"He said that they are working very diligently on the problem and inquires about the health of Remus Lupin and Ginny Weasley."  
  
"They're fine." said Hermione.  
  
She could see the relief very plainly on the faces of McGonagall and Ron in particular.  
  
"Remus! Ginny! Get in here right now!" Severus blasted into Hermione's ear. She winced, but chuckled at the same time.  
  
The people on the other side of the looking glass were laughing as the mirror had no doubt told them what happened.  
  
The door squeaked open, and the pair practically ran as they entered the room. They looked very worried, although Ginny seemed to be blushing slightly too. Hermione beckoned them closer with her free arm.  
  
"Take a look!" she encouraged.  
  
"This is wonderful! I can see the headmaster and Minerva! And Harry and Ron as well. This is a pleasant surprise." Remus laughed.  
  
Ron and Ginny waved to one another with huge, matching grins plastered on their faces. Ginny could have sworn that there were tears in her older brother's eyes. She watched Ron move his lips.  
  
"He says that he is very glad to see that you're all right, Ginny." the mirror told her.  
  
"Thank you." she replied.  
  
"Do you have a plan to get us out of here?" Remus asked.  
  
"They have an incantation." said the looking glass. "But they can only take one of you through each mirror. Oh, dear, that doesn't sound good."  
  
"What?" asked Snape and Hermione.  
  
"They can only take one of you through each looking glass."  
  
"But that shouldn't be a problem. There are at least four mirrors within the wards." said Remus.  
  
"No, they mean _special_ looking glasses, like me, enchanted by the Founders themselves to rescue students or professors or any hapless person inadvertently brought into the demon realm." the mirror answered.  
  
"How many are there?" questioned Severus, nervously tightening his grip upon Hermione again.  
  
"I am the only one they know of for certain, but there should be four others in the castle, as one was broken. You see, the Founders didn't want us to be used lightly or for visits between realms to occur for unsavory purposes." said the mirror, interpreting for Dumbledore.  
  
They were silent for a few moments. Then Hermione spoke.  
  
"Severus, you should go. You've been hurt, and you are in need of medical attention. Remus and I can maintain the wards without you."  
  
"The hell I will! I won't leave you here with possibly no chance of escape." Severus objected, looking down at Hermione with a horrified expression on his face that he could not conceal.  
  
Despite the gravity of the situation, her heart pounded as she realized that he was refusing to leave her in spite of the painful wounds he had received and the fear that he had confessed to feeling. But she earnestly wanted him to go to safety. She wanted to know that he would be all right.  
  
"Severus ..." she began.  
  
"No, none of us are leaving unless all of us can. Together or not at all. That's the only way that we can all survive this mess." said Remus, who wanted nothing more than to send his lovely Ginny back to the world where they belonged.  
  
The mirror, obviously continuing to translate for the two groups, told them, "The headmaster says that none of you should give up hope. The search for the other mirrors is not over yet."  
  
"Good." murmured Remus.  
  
"And he wants to know how badly Professor Snape has been hurt."  
  
"Hardly more than a scratch!" assured Severus, looking into the concerned eyes of his friend and colleague.  
  
"More like a dozen rather deep ones from a _very_ large demon." said Hermione with a little too much honesty. Snape glowered at her. "But he seems to be recovering." she added.  
  
"Professor McGonagall wants you to be sure that you are taking care of yourself." said the looking glass.  
  
"Tell her ..." Snape began to say, but looking down at Hermione he changed his mind and in a softer voice said, "Tell Minerva that I am being taken care of quite well. Thank you very much."  
  
Minerva raised her eyebrows and looked at Hermione and Severus more closely, noticing that they had their arms around each other.  
  
"Indeed." said the mirror, echoing Professor McGonagall.  
  
Harry and Ron both looked rather surprised as they realized what the mirror and McGonagall were saying.  
  
"The headmaster says that they must get back to work and that they will contact you periodically to keep you all well informed and apprised of their progress. He also warns the four of you not to attempt anything risky and to keep your chins up until they can get you out of there."  
  
"Thank him for us." said Remus.  
  
"I did." said the mirror as the four people on the other side of the looking glass waved to them and walked away.  
  
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A/N: Sorry for the last chapter being a cliffhanger!  
  
  
Artemis: I hate to admit it, but I think I might envy Ginny too. Thanks for the review!  
  
Elfmoon87: My weekend is getting better. Thanks! I really appreciate the review!  
  
Black Sparkles: Thank you for reviewing!  
  
coolchicgirl16: Cliffhangers are bad things, but it was such a good opportunity. Thanks for the review!  
  
Aqua Child: Good guess! Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Pidgie: Thank you very much for the review!  
  
plastic: I enjoyed all of your insightful comments, especially the one about robe colors (I like green and blue a lot, but I though house colors would be nice). I don't think I know the author you mentioned. I got the idea for the chapter titles (and I've done this before) from the television show "Friends" which use the phrase "The one with ..." for episode titles. This is my variation on that. Thank you very much for reviewing so many chapters!  
  
JoeBob1379: I am sorry that you had trouble reading chapter 15. It sometimes does that, though I don't know why. I like the idea that a magical mirror would have an attitude. I'm glad you liked the kiss. I worry sometimes that I don't write them so well. Thank you for the reviewing!  
  
Witchy-grrl: Snogged? *giggles* I like that word. It's so cute. As for the other pairing, we will have to see, won't we? Thanks for reviewing!  
  
HunnySnowBunny: I left it there because I am a mean person. Thank you for the review!  
  
Helen: I'm glad you liked it! Now, patience! Thank you!  
  
Rosmerta: Escape? I'm not making any promises. The odds are against them, don't you think? I am pleased that you think Snape was in character there. Men are fascinating. Thanks for the review!  
  
Yukito Forever: Thank you!  
  
  



	17. In which Severus and Hermione have their...

Chapter Seventeen  
  
In which Severus and Hermione have their moment  
  
  
  
"They'll find the other mirrors. It's only a matter of time." shrugged Remus as the looking glass on the wall showed only their own reflections again. The overtly affectionate smile that he gave Ginny caused Severus to roll his eyes, slightly nauseated.  
  
"Isn't it time for you to take your potion and go curl up by the fire?" asked Severus, who was not so optimistic as the werewolf.  
  
"I do believe that the time is drawing nigh." said Remus, chuckling.  
  
"Can I come with you?" asked Ginny.  
  
"I trust you can fill the goblet yourself." said Severus as Remus looked at him.  
  
"Fine." agreed Remus with a confident nod.  
  
Severus shivered as he watched Ginny slip her hand into Remus's as they walked out of the bedroom.  
  
"Still disturbs you, hmm?" asked Hermione with a chuckle, guiding Severus back to bed.  
  
"And it appears to be getting worse." snorted Severus, allowing her to tuck the blankets around him and adjust the pillow behind him.  
  
"I think it's rather cute." said Hermione.  
  
"So cute that it's sickening."  
  
"Severus! I didn't think you knew the word."  
  
"Sickening?"  
  
"No, cute!" she laughed, sitting down by his side.  
  
He snorted and then seemed to grow more serious. It was nice, he admitted to himself, hearing her laugh and speak so freely. She seemed happy for the first time since this adventure had begun. Hermione was so lovely when she was happy and smiling. He smiled, but it was a sorrowful smile as he wondered what would become of her in their still desperate situation.   
  
She furrowed her brow in confusion as she watched his facial expression change. It was like watching a strange internal argument that was being played out silently upon his face, only his changing expressions giving his thoughts away.  
  
"I would love to know what you're thinking right now." she told him.  
  
"No, you wouldn't."  
  
"Severus?"  
  
"What if they don't find enough mirrors? Who will stay behind in the end, Hermione?" he questioned.  
  
Hermione shuddered at the thought of one or more of them trapped in the demon world forever and shook her head.  
  
"It won't happen. The headmaster won't let it and neither would Remus." she said softly, looking down at her hands where they were clasped in her lap.  
  
Severus reached and brushed a honey brown lock of hair away from her face. She clasped his hand and held it to her cheek, closing her eyes as tears sprang unbidden into them. As he felt the tears upon his hand, he drew Hermione closer and kissed the top of her head. His heart ached as she wept. She did not weep for herself or even for Remus and Ginny. He knew that she was weeping for him.  
  
"Hermione ..."  
  
"Oh, just shut up." she sniffed, burying her face in his robes. "I don't want to hear it right now."  
  
Severus just blinked and stroked her back with a gentleness he did not know he possessed.  
  
"If you start up about remaining behind or something rotten like that, I swear ... by Merlin's Beard that I'll hex you or ... or something." she told him.  
  
"Hermione Granger! Stop that crying this minute. I wasn't going to say any such thing."  
  
She looked up at him and said, "No? Well, you were thinking it!"  
  
"How do you know what I was thinking?" he asked. "I could have been thinking about any number of things. I could have been thinking about stunning Lupin or Miss Weasley and leaving them behind for all you know."  
  
"You wouldn't do that."  
  
"But I could have been considering it." he said with a smirk.  
  
"You're impossible!" she said, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.  
  
"Well if that isn't the pot calling the kettle black!"  
  
Hermione managed to smile again and said, "I'm flattered that you think we're so much alike."  
  
"That isn't what I meant at all."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Maybe we are a bit." he admitted. "Stubborn, clever, and better with ideas than with other people."  
  
"I'm just a little ... headstrong. You are a very disagreeable man. There is a difference." she corrected.  
  
Snape raised an eyebrow at her characterization of him.  
  
"Disagreeable am I?"  
  
"Not that _I_ mind it so much, but other people ..."  
  
"To hell with other people then."  
  
"That's exactly what I mean." she said reproachfully. A smile was tugging at her lips.  
  
"What I meant was that as long as you don't mind, it doesn't matter so much to me." he said, looking her in the eye as he made his feelings known.  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
They looked at each other for a long moment before Hermione slipped a hand behind his neck and pulled him closer, close enough to kiss him. She knew that doing so was one of those things that she would either regret for the rest of her natural life or not regret for an instant. And she had to know which.  
  
His eyes widened in surprise as she kissed him, but only a moment was lost as Severus drew her into his arms and passionately enveloped her lips in his own. Only in his wildest dreams, the more recent ones anyhow, had anything like this ever happened. Hermione's kiss grew more and more fervent almost as though they were each trying to rival the passion of the other.  
  
Hermione could feel his heart beating wildly under her hand that rested upon his chest. She reached toward the top button of his robes, but he caught her hand and moaned what sounded like 'no' into her mouth. She slipped her hand downward again, content to feel his heartbeat and his lips upon hers, knowing that he was hardly well enough for anything more.  
  
He only pulled away when he was breathless and seeing stars. He ran a hand through her hair and smiled at her with tears in his eyes. It had been a long time since anyone had kissed him like that. It had been back in the days when his arms were both white and unmarred by any symbol of darkness. After that there had only been conquests. No love, no affection given or taken. Nothing real or genuine.  
  
Hermione closed his eyes and began to kiss away the tears. He shook with silently sobs as she did so. Hushing him between kisses, she tenderly brushed his raven hair from his face. He had never seemed so beautiful as he did lying there with his eyes closed and all the hardness and shrewd cunning washed from his face. She kissed the bridge of his nose and felt his arms around her waist.  
  
"Hermione ..." he said in a trembling voice.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I never expected ..."  
  
"I know. Not in a place like this."  
  
"You can read my mind." he said, opening his eyes.  
  
"We're a lot alike, remember?"  
  
"I remember."  
  
He released her and managed an uncertain smile. Hermione realized that she liked that smile a lot and the man it belonged to as well.  
  
"Promise me, Hermione, that when we get out of here, it won't be like it was before, that we won't go back to that."  
  
Those words were very nearly a declaration of love coming from Severus Snape.  
  
"I promise, Severus, that what we have found here, will leave with us." she said, chuckling.  
  
"Fair enough." he said as she began kissing him again.  
  
Regret was the furthest thing from her mind.  
  
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A/N: That was my stab at romance. I hope that it was satisfactory.  
  
  
Michelle: I really enjoyed your questions, but I can't really answer them. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
plastic: I haven't either. Thank you for the review!  
  
HunnySnowBunny: I love "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe". It was one of my favorite books as a kid, though C. S. Lewis lays the religious allegory on pretty thick. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
coolgirlchic16: I don't think I have the focus to write really long chapters. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Jezebel: I am glad you are enjoying the story that much! Thank you for the review!  
  
SciFi Nut: I probably should at some point credit Lewis Carroll's "Through the Looking Glass" for providing at least some inspiration for my fascination with strange and oddly useful mirrors (though I haven't read it in almost ten years). I'm thoroughly enjoying your story, "When Living is No Longer Enough", by the way. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Black Sparkles: I have heard the word before, but it never ceases to amuse me (not enough exposure to British slang, I suppose). I hope this chapter met with your approval. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Helen: I try to update at acceptable intervals. Thank you!  
  
Elfmoon87: It never rains, but it pours. Well, maybe it's not that bad. But then, no one ever knows. The situation could be seriously strange for Harry and Ron. I see your point. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Dramaqueen: I am glad you are enjoying the story! Thank you for the review!  
  
  



	18. In which Minerva considers the past

Chapter Eighteen  
  
In which Minerva considers the past  
  
  
  
Albus and Minerva strode from the dungeons and into the main corridors of the castle. It had done them both good to see that the missing members of the school seemed to be only a little worse for wear. Dumbledore's eyes sparkled behind his glasses as he chuckled. If he had known the being thrown together like that would put Miss Granger and Severus on such good terms, he might have consider arranging something like that sooner, not that he wished Snape any hardship or pain, but he had never seen the man happier than when Hermione dragged him toward the looking glass. And Remus and Ginny had looked to be getting on together nicely as well.   
  
Albus chuckled again and shook his head. It was an unexpected turn of events. He had expected to find a group of intensely frightened people on the other side of the mirror, but with the exception of injured Severus, they seemed to be handling themselves ideally.  
  
"What are you laughing at, Albus! This situation is still very serious!" protested Professor McGonagall who had been listening to him chuckle as they walked.  
  
She had been very pleased to see that her students were doing sufficiently well in their predicament. She was quite proud of Hermione Granger in particular. It required some special mettle to be able to stand up to Professor Snape and to deal with him effectively. Hermione had that in spades, it seemed.   
  
Glancing at Albus and trying to keep at bay the blush that threatened to rise into her cheeks, she thought of the headmaster and herself when she had been only a bit younger than Miss Granger. Minerva had treated her transfigurations' professor's cuts and bruises after the capture of Grindelwald as she waited for him to decide the Dark Wizard's fate. Albus Dumbledore had been very powerful, very formidable even then.   
  
But in those long past days as he had sat, wand in one hand and the other resting on his knee, watching the stunned and bound form of their enemy, Minerva had looked into the slightly haunted eyes of her mentor and teacher, whom she held in high esteem and yet for whom she felt also a desperate longing. She couldn't remember his exact words, something about imprisoning foul things with other things of the same nature. Minerva had glanced at Grindelwald's broken wand and nodded as she shivered. The battle had been horrific. She had said something to Albus about his bravery. And he had smiled at her. Then she had kissed him.  
  
"Was I laughing, Minerva? I must watch that. People really will think I'm a barmy old codger, won't they?" he said, chuckling again.  
  
"Why didn't you mention that only one person could come through each mirror?" she inquired suddenly.  
  
"I didn't? It must have slipped my mind, though I certainly wouldn't have wanted to worry anyone unnecessarily. No need to do anything like that." Albus told her. "Besides, only half the castle has been searched so far. The other gateway mirrors will turn up sooner or later." he added.  
  
"I hope you're right, Albus. I would hate to think that we could only rescue one of them." said Professor McGonagall.  
  
"You heard Remus. I don't think any of them would leave their companions to face the horrors of that world alone."  
  
"You're right about that, Albus." she sighed.  
  
  
Meanwhile, Harry and Ron had left the dungeons and were checking the corridor near the library where a few mirrors were set in forgotten niches and recesses along the hallway. Their spirits had risen when they had found the magical mirror in Professor Snape's private rooms. They had half expected Snape to blast them both from the other side of the looking glass for having the audacity to enter his rooms, but instead the professor had laughed. Harry couldn't remember ever seeing him do so. The evil potions' master had been standing there with his arm around Hermione and laughing. It was all so very strange.  
  
As though reading his mind, Ron asked, "What do you suppose was the matter with Snape? Hermione said he had been hurt and all, but he looked, well, happy to me, except when she told Dumbledore about him being injured."  
  
"I was thinking the same thing."  
  
"And?"  
  
"They've been trapped in there for sometime now. Maybe it's getting to them... mentally. I mean Hermione was looking at him like ..."  
  
"Ew! Harry! I know, I know. But Ginny was all right."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Of course I am. She can't smile like that if something's bothering her or if something is wrong. She just can't."  
  
Harry smiled and nodded. Ginny was smiling when they saw her and that smile could not have been fake.  
  
"Strange things happen in desperate situations." Harry shrugged. "Maybe they all reached an understanding."  
  
"You know, Harry, that's nice thought, Snape being able to get along with three Gryffindors." mused Ron as they tested another looking glass. "Maybe he won't take away so many points when they come back. That would be very nice, don't you think?"  
  
"If they come back, you mean." said Harry, growing frustrated with their nearly fruitless search.  
  
"What do you mean 'if', Harry? It is only a matter of time before we track down those mirrors." said Ron stubbornly.  
  
"The Founders created them a thousand years ago. One has been broken. What if the others ..."  
  
"I see your point, but we can't give up on them yet. I'm sure the Founders put protection spells and stuff on the mirrors. I bet one of them breaking was only a fluke or something."  
  
"I hope you're right." said Harry as they made their way down the corridor.  
  
  
Minerva McGonagall walked away from the hearth in her apartment in Gryffindor Tower. She had just spoken with Molly Weasley, informing her that her daughter seemed to be just fine and that the matter of bringing her and the others home was being attended to with all possible diligence. Molly was quite relieved to hear that. Minerva wished that she could have given her more. She wished that the four of them were already safe, but that was something that might be days away, depending upon the success or failure of the search for the mirrors.   
  
She had just finished checking the mirrors in her own apartment for the second time. If one was located in the rooms of the Slytherin head of house, why not one in the Gryffindor equivalent? But it just wasn't so simple. Minerva had not expected it to be, but no stone was to be left unturned in the quest to bring Ginny, Hermione, Remus, and Severus home again.  
  
Minerva sighed softly, walking from mirror to mirror, as she remembered what happened after Dumbledore and herself had brought Grindelwald back to the castle during the dark hours of the evening on the last day of April during her sixth year. It had been her wand the kept him under the Mobilicorpus spell as they took him to the dungeons of Hogwarts. In both the past and present she shuddered as she remembered the dangerous look in Grindelwald's eyes and his distracted mumbling. He had gone mad near the end of his reign of terror, but his was still a force to be reckoned with.  
  
A young and handsome Ministry Auror named Alastor Moody had been waiting for them in the most secluded part of the dungeons with Professor Reynard Krohn, the head of Slytherin house and potions' professor. Krohn, a towering man with blond hair that obscured his eyes from view, had loomed over a bubbling cauldron, adding ingredients and paying no attention to anything but his craft. Albus had instructed her to put Grindelwald in the corner of the room farthest from the Auror and the professor while he had a discussion with his colleagues. She had done exactly as he had asked, guarding the mad wizard until Albus returned.  
  
He had laid a hand on her shoulder. She knew that he could feel her trembling beneath her dirty, blood besmirched school robes. The day and night had been long and horrific. She had only endured one other that compared in her entire life, the night when the Potters had been killed. Albus's eyes were sad as he looked at her, sad and knowing. She did not lower the wand she had pointed at Grindelwald, an incoherently mumbling form bound by magical cords. She wanted to continue to be strong and brave for Albus. She wanted him to be proud of her. Minerva didn't know that he was already incredibly proud of her and would be for as long as they lived.  
  
"Professor Krohn is almost ready to begin. I would like you to leave now, Minerva." he said in a low voice in her ear.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"You've seen so much. I want to protect you from witnessing this at least."  
  
"You're going to kill him." she said. It was a statement, not a question.  
  
"No, we are going to send him into the Founder's prison world."  
  
She had gasped. She had been unable to stop herself. In those days records of the demons' imprisonment were still kept in the history books. They had been removed later to decrease the likelihood that students would experiment with methods of taking things in or out of that realm. It had worked for half a century.  
  
"It is the punishment that has been agreed upon. It is for the best." Albus told her.  
  
"I understand."  
  
"Then return to your dormitory, Minerva. You have been a great help tonight. I am grateful for your assistance."  
  
"Thank you, Albus." she had said, finally lowering her wand.  
  
As she left the dungeons, McGonagall could hear the cries of Grindelwald as he realized what was to become of him, and she had run the rest of the distance to Gryffindor Tower.  
  
Her mind returned to the task at hand as she gave the mirror in the bath two sharp taps. There was no magical mirror in the chambers of the Gryffindor head of house. It was time to move her search elsewhere, perhaps to the classrooms or the other offices.  
  
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A/N: That was a lot of flashbacks/ memories.  
  
  
HunnySnowBunny: An elementary education major? I tip my imaginary hat to you. I love the movie "Sense and Sensibility". I swoon for Col. Brandon each and every time. And Alan Rickman does a good job reading Shakespeare's "My Mistress' Eye Are Nothing Like the Sun" or whatever it's called - I have a sound file of it somewhere. Thank you very much for the review!  
  
Idamae: Thank you!  
  
Hermia: I'm glad that you are enjoying the story. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Aine Deande: Bickering is fun. Well, not so much in real life, but in fiction it can be. I am pleased that you liked Severus' question. I was worried that it might have been a little over the top. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Honey666: I always have trouble figuring out how to make a review in any way helpful to the author. It's tough, but I try to at least offer encouragement - like your review did. Thanks!  
  
Helen: Hmm ... a bit bold. I never thought of that. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Black Sparkles: Thanks for the review!  
  
Rhapsody: I'm glad you are enjoying the pairings. Dumbledore and McGonagall are cute, aren't they? I hate to say it, but they are the only pairing I like that even has a chance in the books (though not a good one). Thank you for reviewing!  
  
BLV: I appreciate all of your compliments. I am very pleased that you find my story logical. Parallel worlds are an interesting topic. I try to handle it reasonably. The 'friendship' between Snape and Remus has a lot to do with the way I see Remus, which is as forgiving and understanding. The pairings are among my favorites and are a pleasure to write. I thought your review was very nice. I could not tell that English is your second language. Thanks again!  
  
plastic: Obviously that wasn't the end. I still have a few things up my sleeve. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Michelle: I hope I didn't put that off too long. Glad you liked it. But I have to ask, what does kawii mean? Thank you for the review!  
  
JoeBob1379: Thank you very much for the reviews!  
  
Rhianna: Thanks for the review!  
  
Ginny Riddle: I was worried that the line might come off as a little too melodramatic. It's nice to know that it didn't sound that way to other people. About the line of sight from the mirror ... when I picture the bedroom, the mirror and bed don't line up because of the wardrobe. I never thought about that though, which is really hilarious. Thanks for mentioning that and for reviewing!  
  
  
  
Albus and Minerva: Infinite Incantatum  
  
  



	19. In which Remus goes werewolf again

Chapter Nineteen  
  
In which Remus goes werewolf again  
  
  
  
Remus held the smoking goblet for a moment and made a face at Ginny as he rinsed the cup and returned it to Snape's desk. By his estimate the transformation would be taking place soon. It was difficult to guess without being able to see the evening sky or smell fresh air from the outdoors. And he still didn't know how he felt about Ginny watching him change into a werewolf. Even his close friends had confessed to finding the sight somewhat disturbing. At least they had been honest. That was always important.  
  
"Ginny, are you sure you want to watch this? You could go sit by the fire and wait for me. It only requires a few minutes, after all, and it isn't much of a show." Remus told her.  
  
"Remus, I'm not afraid of you, but I will leave if you ask me to." she answered.  
  
Remus smiled at her and shook his head, "You can stay. I just wanted to be sure that you were ready to see this."  
  
"I am, or at least I think so." she said.  
  
Ginny would never fail to surprise him. She was truly not concerned by the idea that he would transform into a werewolf right before her eyes in only a few minutes. He had offered her an easy way to avoid witnessing his change from man to werewolf, but she had refused to take it. But Remus didn't realize how strong her feelings were for him, no matter how many times she had kissed him that afternoon.  
  
"I don't know how I should say this, but I want to thank you for not being afraid of this old werewolf and for ..." he said, looking down into her eyes; he could see nothing in them but compassion and trust, "looking at me with those eyes."  
  
Her expression became slightly quizzical, but Remus only chuckled and kissed her before stepping away, feeling the familiar trembling of his limbs as the transformation began.  
  
The sight of Remus becoming an extremely large wolf was somewhat disturbing to her, but she didn't flinch or turn away from him. She merely watched him, keeping her expression as neutral as possible. The comment about her eyes had made her somewhat self-conscious. She didn't want to him to find fear or anything else unpleasant in her gaze since it meant so much to him.  
  
Ginny was surprised to hear Remus give a grunt or growl of pain as he changed before her eyes. She had never realized that there was pain involved in the transformation. She knelt and stroked his fur as the process was completed. He lay there for a moment, allowing her to run her fingers through his shaggy gray fur before nuzzling her hand with his nose. He whined softly as he rose from the floor.  
  
"Are you all right then?" she asked him.  
  
The werewolf nodded his head and padded toward the door to the other rooms.  
  
"Do you want to go rest by the fireside then?"  
  
The werewolf gave her an affirmative look and waited for Ginny to come to her feet before treading softly through the store room and into the parlor.  
  
  
Severus had been napping, recovering his strength, with Hermione by his side, still reading through the potions' tome that Severus had risked his life to acquire and listening to the soft breaths of her professor. Then all of the sudden he found himself awake again, and his skin was prickling and tingling again. The sensation was stronger this time.  
  
"Severus?" inquired Hermione, putting the book aside with a second thought. "Is it the wards again?" she asked.  
  
"Remus must be changing. That always seems to draw undue attention from our fellow guests." he said, sitting up.  
  
Hermione could tell that his strength had yet to return. She had coaxed him into taking another draught of healing potion before he had settled down for a little shut eye, but that had only soothed the pain, the beginnings of which she had seen return to his eyes even as she had kissed him.  
  
"I suppose they can sense the presence of a Dark Creature. Maybe they are trying to make contact with him or something." shrugged Hermione.  
  
"That must be it. It is folly, of course, but perhaps they believe that they sense an ally." said Severus, twisting uncomfortably as his skin crawled.  
  
"Can I do anything to help?" she questioned.  
  
Severus hesitated as he looked into her concerned brown eyes. The sensation would cease soon, he knew. It was not necessary to ask anything of her. He had borne intense pain before, and this was hardly even painful. It was irritating and caused him almost indescribable discomfort, but Severus did not wish to voice such a complaint to her again. He was afraid that she would perceive him as weak.  
  
His reluctance to speak was noticeable. Hermione smiled, almost as though she understood some unspoken request that he had made. She lifted his hand and rubbed her fingers along the top of it. A sigh escaped his lips before he could control it. Touch, such a very simple thing, and the very thing that could still the pins that pricked at his flesh.  
  
"Hermione ..."  
  
"Is that better? Is it helping any?" she questioned, rubbing his arm upward toward his shoulder.  
  
"Much better."  
  
His eyes were beginning to close as she rubbed his shoulders. The instant comfort was more than his tired, wounded body could bear. The listening ears of the demons were going away, losing interest. Their uncomfortable testing of and prodding at his wards ceased. The fact that Remus had finished his transformation was dim in his suddenly sleepy mind. The potion and the gentle hands that were massaging his shoulders were taking effect rather rapidly. He heard a throaty feminine laugh somewhat distantly as the soothing hands slipped a pillow from behind him and eased him into a prone position. The top buttons of his robes were unfastened and his collar loosened. Soft lips kissed his forehead and sleep stole through his mind like mist through a garden.  
  
Hermione was amazed at how quickly her charge began to drift away as she touched him. The needles and pins had robbed him of sleep, but she had been able to give it back. She admitted that the healing potion had probably helped with that. She knew that he was in need of as much rest as possible, though his color was beginning to return slowly along with his strength.   
  
The hour was growing late. In the world where they belonged, day was giving way to night. She kissed Severus good-night as she acknowledged that the sunless day had been a long one. Extinguishing most of the candles that lit the room, Hermione curled up next to Severus and silently hoped that this night would be their last in the world of demons, but not their last together.  
  
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A/N: A lot of things will be explained later.  
  
  
Myranya: The mirror or mirrors could technically be moved in the 'normal' realm, but the one(s) in the demon realm would stay in the same place, unless a lot of complicated magic was invoked, which would probably require more ancient know-how than could be readily come up with. Of course, that is assuming that the other mirrors are in tact. But that was a great question! Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Rosmerta: One does wonder what exactly became of Grindelwald. I don't think I should answer that. Thanks for the review!  
  
Honey666: I am definitely doing an Albus/Minerva spin-off of this story. A companion piece. I have only read one Grindelwald-era story (Ozma's "Squib Aprentice") and there is precious little in canon about that time in wizarding history, so it's rather fun, new territory. Thank you very much for reviewing!  
  
Mrs Daniel Radcliffe: Thanks for the review!  
  
plastic: Er, um ... 'beat up old ladies for their pills'? I'm afraid to ask. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
coolgirlchic16: You want a happy ending? Of course, everyone likes happy endings, but I never make any promises. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
sstopper: You're welcome! Thank you for the review!  
  
Yukito Forever: Thank you for reviewing!  
  
LadySnape: I am pleased to know that you like the way I have written Snape. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
  



	20. In which the search is concluded and a c...

Chapter Twenty  
  
In which the search is concluded and a charm is discussed  
  
  
  
Two more mirrors had been found, which was wonderful news. One had been located in the prefects' bathroom near a painting of a mermaid. It had been discovered by Neville Longbottom, who was a prefect for his house, when he went into the bath to soak a couple of fingers he had inadvertently smashed in a door. The second had been located by Harry and Ron in the Divination classroom in the North Tower. Harry had pulled aside some draperies to find the small and ancient looking glass. This, of course, meant that they only needed to locate one more magical mirror and their friends and professors could be brought home.  
  
But something was troubling Harry as they walked back down the stairs of the North Tower together, keeping a sharp look out for other mirrors they might have missed on the way up. There were things imprisoned within that world that were very dangerous, so dangerous in fact that they had managed to injure Professor Snape rather significantly. The quartet was obviously holed up in the dungeons, probably warded in by powerful spells designed to protect them from the demon hoard. How would they manage to get from the dungeon rooms to places like the prefects' bath or to the far off North Tower without being killed?  
  
Remus was an expert in Defense Against the Dark Arts. He could probably manage the feat, but then the other three were not so lucky. Hermione was well-versed in several areas of magic, including defensive magic and charms, but she was hardly equipped to handle a large number of savage Dark Creatures. Ginny, thanks to her older brothers, was very good at nasty hexes, but that would hardly stop foes of this caliber, so menacing and perilous that the Founders themselves had sealed them away from the rest of the world. And Professor Snape, well schooled no doubt in the Dark Arts as well as defense against them, was injured and certainly not in exactly peek condition. To Harry the situation was not all that encouraging.  
  
And they still had that one mirror to find before they could even think about their friends returning home.  
  
As Harry and Ron reached a main corridor, intending to make their way to one of the other towers that had yet to be searched, such as the Astronomy Tower, they heard the sound of someone stepping up behind them.  
  
"Potter, Weasley, come here a minute." said the cranky voice of Mister Filch, causing both young men to jump.  
  
Mister Filch was holding Mrs. Norris, his creepy cat, in his arms as he stood in the hallway right behind them. Where had he come from? He looked at them impatiently and motion for them to follow him.  
  
Harry looked at Ron and shrugged as he followed Filch between two suits of armor. The caretaker rapped on the stone wall with his knuckles to reveal a secret passageway, one of many in the castle. They entered the dimly lit passage behind Filch, who was moving at a rather rapid pace, obviously knowing the tunnel quite well.  
  
The passage narrowed a few meters into it, but then they saw a dark, open doorway to their left. Filch took a lit torch from a holder on the wall and pointed them into the room with it. Ron gulped softly as he followed Harry into the room, Filch and his cat bringing up the rear.  
  
Harry glanced around as he stepped into the room. There was a table, rough hewn and rather ugly, in the center of the room, two benches, and a few locked chests stacked against the wall. This had once been a private reading room or perhaps breakfast nook for someone once long ago. The room smelled a little musty from disuse, but it was rather clean despite that.  
  
"Well, check that mirror. Do your magic." instructed Filch, waving the torch toward an aged looking glass on the far wall of the little room.  
  
Harry pulled his wand from the pocket of his robes and walked forward to test the mirror. He tapped it twice in the center. The looking glass shimmered and the view changed slightly. The room was illuminated slightly better, and there were books and parchment on the rough table. Perhaps it had been a secluded study room in by-gone days.  
  
"This is one of them!" Harry told Ron excitedly.  
  
"Should've known." muttered Mister Filch.  
  
Ron laughed aloud with relief, the small reading room ringing with the sound of his laughter. Harry grinned.  
  
"Mister Filch, I could kiss you! We would have never found this place on our own." said Ron, continuing to laugh.  
  
"See that you resist that urge, Mister Weasley. Go inform the headmaster of the discovery right away." ordered Mister Filch gruffly.  
  
  
When Albus Dumbledore saw Harry and Ron dashing headlong through the corridor toward his office, which he had just left in order to search the hospital wing and the rest of that floor with Minerva, he knew immediately that they had found the fourth mirror. He smiled as they skidded to a halt and tried to catch their breath.  
  
"Where is it, my boys?" he questioned, laying a hand on each of their shoulders.  
  
"Secret passage on the third floor, sir." Harry told him.  
  
"Mister Filch is waiting to show you the way, professor."  
  
"Excellent job. Some people," he said, meaning Minerva and a few of the prefects, including Parkinson and Malfoy, "were beginning to have their doubts."  
  
"Well, we showed them!" said Ron, giving Harry a bit of a look.  
  
"You certainly have. I believe I can find my way down there. Why don't the two of you return to your dormitories and try to get a good night's sleep?"  
  
"But what about Ginny? And Hermione and Remus? We want to be there when they come back and all." protested Ron, who had obviously yet to take the demons into account as Harry had.  
  
"It will be several hours at least before you need to worry about that, Mister Weasley, and it is rather late, almost midnight I would say." said Dumbledore, looking over his spectacles at him.  
  
That was almost always enough to silence any student who dared to question him. Ron sighed and was no exception.  
  
"Yes, professor."  
  
"Be assured that you will both be permitted to be on hand when they are returned to us." he assured them both.  
  
"Thank you, sir." said Harry as they turned and began walking back to their tower.  
  
  
Minerva was just leaving her rooms again with a cup of tea to keep her awake as the search was obviously not going to end any time soon and the night was going to prove to be a very long one; she just knew that it would be. Sibyl Trelawny had been right. She just didn't have the Inner Eye.   
  
She nearly crashed into Ron and Harry on her way out of the tower. None of them, herself included, were looking where they were going.  
  
"Sorry, professor." said Harry as she steadied herself against the wall.  
  
"It's all right, Potter. We all have things on our minds. Just pay more attention in the future." she told them with a small sigh.  
  
"If it helps any, the fourth mirror has been found." offered Harry, smiling.  
  
"Yes, it does. It helps a great deal." said McGonagall with a pleasant, relieved smile, which was a rare sight indeed.  
  
"Professor Dumbledore is on his way to inspect it just now. It's in a secret passage one floor down." Ron told her.  
  
"Did he send you two to find me?"  
  
"Oh, no, we've been ordered to bed." said Ron, his frustration and annoyance coming through a bit too clearly.  
  
"Then to bed you should both go." said their head of house, not giving an inch.  
  
"Yes, professor." sighed Weasley, starting to trudge up the stairs to the Gryffindor common room and dormitories.  
  
"Professor?" asked Harry quietly, watching the retreating form of his friend.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"How are they going to get to the other mirrors?" he questioned, looking her in the eye with a very searching expression on his face.  
  
"We haven't worked that out yet, but Albus certainly must have a plan." said Minerva firmly.  
  
"Of course, professor." nodded Harry.  
  
  
Most of her tea had been sloshed from its cup during her collision with Harry and Ron, but Professor McGonagall didn't mind so much as she strode through the corridor toward the secret passageway that her students had mentioned. Albus was talking with Argus Filch as she approached the entrance to the passage. Dumbledore smiled at her as she approached. Mister Filch gave her a deferential nod.  
  
"Sorry I didn't remember this place sooner, but no one uses the room for anything. It isn't even large enough for a proper storeroom." Mister Filch told the headmaster.  
  
"Think nothing of it, Argus. You can't be expected to remember every nook and cranny in the castle. No one can." said Dumbledore.  
  
"Professors." Mister Filch said in parting before making his way back toward his office with his gray cat slinking after him.  
  
"So it's in there." said Minerva, nodding toward the opening between the two suits of armor.  
  
"Indeed it is." said Albus.  
  
"Now what?" she questioned.  
  
"They will need the incantation, of course, which should be easy enough to provide to them."  
  
"Naturally."  
  
"And they will need a way to get to the mirrors located outside the dungeons."  
  
"You have a plan then?"  
  
"Not even the foggiest notion, Minerva. But I think very well at night."  
  
"Albus, are you going to tell them that the mirrors have been located?"  
  
"In the morning, perhaps quite early; you see, the moon is full at the moment, and I mean to have a conversation with Remus."  
  
Minerva put her free hand to her mouth as she realized what he was saying. Remus was in werewolf form at the moment, which limited his abilities as a conversationalist for one thing.  
  
"I didn't notice! With so many other things ..."  
  
"No one faults you for that, Minerva. Severus had a fair store of Wolfsbane potion when last we discussed the matter, enough for two nights, if not three. No need to fret about it unless I am much mistaken about their accident."  
  
"Of course."  
  
"And they are all certainly sleeping right now, as you should be."  
  
"Albus, how could I sleep at a time like this?" she questioned almost indignantly.  
  
"Well, it usually involves a bed, some comfortable clothing, and putting out the light ..."  
  
"You know what I mean."  
  
"Minerva, really, there isn't very much that can be done at this moment. I told two of your students almost the very same thing. And you look to need the rest far more than they did."  
  
"But won't you need me to help plan?"  
  
"Perhaps later." Albus commented. "Or are you afraid?"  
  
Minerva pursed her lips and drew herself up to her full height, which was certainly neither towering nor threatening, and asked, "And what would I be afraid of?"  
  
There was a peculiar and unfamiliar sadness in Dumbledore's eyes as he replied, "The nightmares."  
  
At first Minerva wasn't certain what he meant by that enigmatic comment. Then she inhaled sharply, recalling a particularly vivid nightmare that she had had fifty years earlier during the last hours of darkness on the day after Grindelwald had been captured and banished. In the dream she had followed Albus out of the school and into Hogsmeade, just as she had in reality, but when she had caught up with him and illegally apparated in tandem with him by grabbing him from behind and concentrating, it was no longer Albus. It was the insane Dark Wizard Grindelwald, leering at her and drawing his wand to perform a killing curse on her. His beady eyes had rolled crazily. She had awakened everyone in the sixth year girls' dormitory with her screams.  
  
The nightmares had gone on for days, she remembered, until she had gone to Albus after class and requested that he place a memory charm on her. He had been reticent despite her blood shot eyes and the reports from the Gryffindor prefect complaining about her screams and her stubborn silence on the matter. Wiping the memory of a witch or wizard was not something to be done lightly. But Minerva had been adamant.  
  
"You will forget everything we did. The good and the bad. Everything ..." he had warned her with regret in his eyes.  
  
The kiss. That had been so important to her, though her friend and mentor had hardly kissed her back, returning only the most meager portion of her affection. Only that afternoon did Minerva realize that the kiss had meant anything at all to him. That Albus Dumbledore might have feelings for her that extended beyond those of a professor and the head of her house.  
  
Her auburn-hared professor had allowed her to sit in his chair as he prepared to cast the charm. He was neither young nor foolish, but she was perhaps just a little bit of both, willing to trade that discovery for restful nights of slumber. He gave her every chance to change her mind.  
  
"It isn't going to be a strong charm. I mean for it to be broken someday when you are strong enough, when you are ready." Albus told her, brushing errant strands of sable black hair from her face.   
  
But Minerva McGonagall remained adamant. Nothing could change her mind, and he had honored her request, though it very nearly broke his heart.  
  
Albus regarded Minerva as they stood in the vacant corridor with a strange expression as he watched her eyes widen as the fifty-year-old memories came back to her like a dam being burst by a flooding river.  
  
"After all this time, Albus! Why didn't you say something?" she questioned.  
  
"This is not in reference to the nightmares, is it?" he said, recognizing the expression of shock upon her face.  
  
"You ... you ..."  
  
"Yes, Minerva, your feelings were not unrequited. I had hoped that you would remember that too in time. But time has a way of cheating those that depend upon it." he sighed with a soft smile.  
  
"Fifty years, Albus! You've kept this to yourself for fifty years!"  
  
"Very nearly, fifty, yes." he agreed. "But they have been a very busy fifty years, you have to admit."  
  
"You could have ... could have at least dropped hints or something."  
  
"And you could have said how you felt even after the memory charm was put into place. But all of that was said and done a long time ago, Minerva, and in the intervening years between then and now I have had the pleasure of calling you one of my closest friends and staunchest allies."  
  
Minerva looked at him with tears in her eyes and said, "But if you felt the same way about me that I did about you, there could have been so much more."  
  
"I know."  
  
They stood there in the moonlit corridor for several minutes, looking at one another, and then Minerva simply whispered good-night to the headmaster and began to walk back to Gryffindor Tower, if not to sleep, then to be alone and to think.   
  
Albus simply chuckled as he made his way back to toward his office, shaking his head. Throughout their long acquaintance and their only somewhat shorter friendship, he had flirted with Minerva McGonagall many times to no effect. She had simply never noticed, not in all their long years together. Dumbledore liked to believe that Fate gave people many chances to get things right, and he tried to be so generous himself. But it seemed that his young student and himself had had only one opportunity, lost to them because of the horrors that had accompanied it.  
  
He hoped that Hermione and Severus would have the opportunity to take advantage of their chance, and, if he read his signs correctly, that Remus and Ginny would have the same. Albus chuckled again and began thinking of the best the way to bring all parties home safely.  
  
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A/N: This was originally going to be two chapters, but I combined them. I don't know if it's exactly seamless or not.  
  
  
Phoenix Flight: Thank you for reviewing!  
  
coolchicgirl16: I have a lot of plans, but I can't divulge any of them. Thanks for the review!  
  
Yukito Forever: I like your reviews. Some of them (the monkey ones) are very funny. Thank you!  
  
bansh: I think that sums it up nicely: "a precarious balance". I like that. I'm very flattered that you think I write Sevreus well. Thank you very for the review!  
  
plastic: Ebolic grapes? Okay ... How many chapters? Well, I just combined two, so less than I would have said yesterday. *shrugs* Under thirty? Thanks for reviewing!  
  
HunnySnowBunny: I can totally understand the Snape-as-a-jaguar thing (or a panther perhaps?). He is very cat-like, isn't he? Thank you for reviewing!  
  
BLV: It's very nice to know that you like my characterizations. I like to believe that Ginny should become braver as she gets older. She is a Gryffindor, so she should have that potential. Thank you very much for your compliments and your review!  
  
Aqua Child: *laughs* Thanks for reviewing!  
  
  



	21. In which the time comes to hear the plan

Chapter Twenty-one  
  
In which the time comes to hear the plan  
  
  
  
Hermione was sleeping soundly until she felt someone shaking her and was forced into wakefulness at what felt like a very indecent hour of the morning. She tried to hide at first, burying her face in pillow and groaning. But as her mind slowly found its way through the dim and murky depths of slumber, she realized that the person was far too persistent and wasn't likely to stop until acknowledged them.  
  
She opened her eyes to find Severus staring down at her, looking mildly annoyed as he buttoned the collar of his robes with one hand and continued to shake her with the other.  
  
"Finally." he said.  
  
"What's the matter?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.  
  
"The mirror awakened me. It says that the headmaster wants to speak with all of us." Severus informed her.  
  
"I certainly hope it's good news."  
  
"As do I."  
  
"I'll go and get Remus and Ginny then." she said, sliding from the bed and smoothing her rumpled clothes.  
  
Hermione walked into the parlor, yawning as she opened the door that separated the two rooms. She stopped in her tracks and grinned when she saw them curled up on the couch together. They had decided that the overstuffed piece of furniture was vastly preferable to the floor for sleeping.  
  
Remus had changed back into human form, which meant that it was not quite so early in the morning as Hermione had believed, and he had his arms around Ginny, who was sleeping with her head resting upon his chest. They looked so peaceful, so happy as they slept that Hermione truly hated to wake them. But, of course, she did not want to keep the headmaster waiting.  
  
"Wake up, you two!" she said, chuckling softly despite her best efforts not to do so. "We have business to attend to this morning. Professor Dumbledore wants to speak with us." Hermione added as they scrambled up from the couch with Remus looking every-so-slightly guilty for his part and Ginny appearing only a bit embarrassed.  
  
They both nodded and followed her back into the bedroom where Severus was seated on the edge of the bed. Remus and Ginny strode toward the mirror, understanding that that was where the summons had come from, while Hermione helped Severus to his feet and across the room. His steps were still wobbly, but he seemed almost strong enough to walk unassisted.  
  
"What news?" asked Severus with a slight smirk as he noticed an exhausted looking Minerva McGonagall standing just behind Dumbledore. It appeared as though she had not slept the night before.  
  
Two of the most irritating Gryffindors ever to enter Hogwarts were standing to the side. Harry and Ron looked as though they had just been roused from bed, which of course they had been.  
  
Severus watched the headmaster's lips move silently and waited for the mirror to relay the message.  
  
"He says that the other three looking glasses have been successfully located."  
  
"That's wonderful!" said Ginny, beaming at Remus and squeezing his hand, which she had been holding for some time.  
  
"It certainly is!" Severus agreed with a relieved smile.   
  
Despite his banter with Hermione the night before, he had been preparing himself for the possibility that he would have to remain behind if worse came to worst. He did not consider himself anything like a martyr nor particularly noble, but Severus would have done what was necessary to see Hermione home, and he knew Gryffindors in general and her in particular well enough to say that perhaps only the Imperious Curse itself would have been sufficient to force her to leave him. Remus, he believed, might have accepted his sacrifice with the proper amount of convincing, and where he went Ginny would follow, but not Hermione. She would have been most difficult.  
  
"Where are they then?" questioned Remus with a pleased and much relieved smile.  
  
"One is located in the prefects' bath. Another hangs behind a drapery in the Divinations classroom. The last is hidden in a sequestered reading room in a secret passage between two suits of armor in the third floor corridor." the mirror told them, speaking for Dumbledore.  
  
The room became strangely silent at the locations of the exits to the demon realm were named. They all realized instantly how far away those places were within the castle. They were all outside the dungeons, far outside the wards and their sanctuary. They may as well have been on the moon.  
  
Remus shook his head as he realized how foolish it had been to believe that escaping this prison was going to a simple thing. He pulled Ginny closer as he noticed that she was trembling. Severus and Hermione were standing in stunned silence next to him. Remus touched his colleague's shoulder. Severus nodded in soundless agreement that their luck had just taken a turn for the worse. They stood there for sometime before Hermione summoned the courage to speak.  
  
"It can't be as hopeless as it sounds." she managed. Her voice was quavering.  
  
"It isn't." the mirror told them. "With a little bit of floo powder and some luck, the Divinations classroom is quite accessible. That gives you two mirrors that can be reached easily enough, including me."  
  
"Then the students can be saved." said Severus.  
  
"And we can take our chances." nodded Lupin with a steely, resolute expression upon his face.  
  
"What about all for one and one for all?" objected Hermione rather strenuously.  
  
Severus felt her tighten her grip upon him, her hand clenching a fistful of his robes as though she would never let go.  
  
"The secret passage on the third floor is not very far from the trophy room, which also has floo access. A short sprint between the two should be quite manageable." said the mirror, obviously imitating the hasty tone of the headmaster, who was no doubt privy to their argument.  
  
"And the prefects' bath?" asked Hermione.  
  
The mirror was silent for a long time as Albus and Minerva appeared to confer for some time. Harry and Ron were shifting anxiously from foot to foot as they listened. But whether because no one had asked it to or because Dumbledore wanted to keep the conversation private, the four people on the other side of the looking glass could not hear their discussion.  
  
Severus opened his mouth to speak, but Hermione beat him to it and said, "You will not, Severus. You are in no condition to make a run for it."  
  
He closed his mouth with a snap. Hermione was far too insightful for her own good.  
  
"Professor McGonagall suggests that distance between the bath and the Divinations classroom is not insurmountable. The headmaster suggests that anyone who attempts this be well versed in Defense Against the Dark Arts." the mirror told them.  
  
"Leave that one for me then." said Remus.  
  
"Severus should exit through this mirror. I'm sure Ginny could handle the classroom as it sounds perfectly safe. Remus would be going with her too. That would mean that I would take the passageway mirror." said Hermione, reasoning out their choices. "And don't you dare protest, Severus." she added, giving him a glare that matched his own almost perfectly.  
  
"Professor Dumbledore says that he was going to make the very same suggestions and congratulates Miss Granger on her clever observations."  
  
"A lot of this hinges on whether or not we have an adequate supply of floo powder." said Severus suddenly.  
  
"I will check the hearth." nodded Remus in agreement.  
  
Ginny went with him as he dashed from the room. Severus snickered at the sight before looking down at Hermione.  
  
"Never followed me like a lost puppy." he told her quietly. She giggled and blushed as she watched the faces in the mirror. Severus flushed slightly as he realized that he had been heard. The looking glass did not see fit to pass along any comments made back in their own world.  
  
"You can be sure that I won't." Hermione replied with an amused expression.  
  
Remus returned only a few moments later with a full pot of floo powder and a relieved, yet determined expression on his face. He had obviously said some encouraging things to Ginny in the other room because she didn't look nearly so worried or fearful. She was the very picture of a Gryffindor in a pinch, and Remus was very proud and had said so.  
  
"We are well supplied here." Remus assured Dumbledore.  
  
"Good. Are you ready to write down the incantation?" the mirror asked, relaying a question from Dumbledore, who had a large book in his hands.  
  
"Accio quill and parchment!" said Remus after drawing his wand. The two objects flew into the room from the writing desk on the parlor. "I believe so." he answered.  
  
Dumbledore held the book up to the looking glass, pointing out the particular spell that Remus needed to copy for them to use. It was not incredibly complicated, but then it was meant mostly to help rescue students and not necessarily for fully trained wizards. It was a very elegant spell that they all felt that they could manage easily, even if under pressure.  
  
"When do you want us to do this?" asked Severus.  
  
"Soon, unless there is something that would keep you from doing so."  
  
They all looked at one another. They had no way of predicting the movements of the demons and no notion of what parts of the castle they inhabited, save perhaps that at least one slept in the library.  
  
"Very well." said Remus, whose journey was longest and who was therefore going to take the greatest risk. "We will begin immediately."  
  
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A/N: Short chapter. Sorry.  
  
  
SlytherinQueen87: I'm glad you liked Ron's comments in the earlier chapter. Remus is difficult, but fun to write. He is almost as complicated as Snape, but more endearing I guess. Thank you very much for the reviews!  
  
LadyTiffany: I am well aware of the age gap between Dumbledore and McGonagall. He would have been quite old (in 1945) by muggle standards. And she would have been quite young (16 going on 17 - why am I thinking of "The Sound of Music"?). I figure that 70 (which I have heard as an estimate for her age in the books) is indeed an approxiation. Okay, so if she were _exactly_ 70 in GoF (1994-95) then she would have been born in 1924-25 and my timeline would be off by ... two years (depending on when she was born - I like to think May, but then I'm weird). Of course, the exact dates of her birth and attendance are not given insofar as I know, so I have appropriated approximately thirteen to twenty-four months of wiggle room. Be charitable! Let me have them! Thank you very much for reviewing and for challenging my canon-knowledge and logic!  
  
Hermia: Exhausted? Sorry to hear that! Thanks for reviewing!  
  
plastic: Neener, neener? *laughs nervously* Thank you!  
  
Jezebel: Thanks for reviewing!  
  
agnessa: You are the only other person I have ever heard of who hears actor's voices when they read! I do it too (though generally not when I'm writing). That's really super! I feel like so much less of a freak! Thank you! I'm really pleased to hear that you liked my Albus and Minerva angsty scene. *blushes* But I must disagree with you about your take on the ending of "Counsel for Defence". Tragic? Thank you very much for the review!  
  
Dramaqueen: How does he do it? Well, I honestly don't know. I suppose flirting with Minerva would have become half sport and half art form over the years. Oddly enough, I once knew of a couple who had been seeing each other for almost thirty-five years (maybe forty by now) and time and again she refused to marry him, they say, but he hasn't given up yet (anecdotal evidence of the fact that men can be single-minded and weird). Strange, I know, but it happens. Thanks for the review!  
  
coolchicgirl16: I am happy to hear that you like the Albus and Minerva subplot. It was just going to be a little, tiny when I started writing, but it took on a life of its own. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Rhianna: I love the pairing of Albus and Minerva (check out the author Freelancer, who writes them much better). Thanks for the review!  
  
  
Time to annoy everyone who doesn't Yahoo!  
  
Albus and Minerva: Infinite Incantatum  
  
  



	22. In which Severus and Hermione are parted

Chapter Twenty-two  
  
In which Severus and Hermione are parted  
  
  
  
Hermione looked up into Severus's dark eyes as they stood before the mirror. He would be the first one leaving the prison realm. Dumbledore had already sent for Madam Pomfrey so that his injuries could be examined immediately upon his return. Hermione glanced at Remus and Ginny who were standing by anxiously awaiting the departure. They both wanted to be certain that the spell would work for one thing, and for another they were also concerned about Hermione and themselves. It would not be quite so simple for them for get out.  
  
"Can we have a moment?" Hermione asked them.  
  
Remus and Ginny nodded, understanding completely. Out of the corner of her eye she glimpsed the looking glass returning to its normal reflective state.  
  
"Take all the time you need." Remus urged her as they stepped into the parlor and closed the door.  
  
"Hermione, I hope that you will not become weepy or overly sentimental about my impending departure. I would be quite disappointed as we shall be reunited within the hour." Severus told her, cupping her face in his hands.  
  
"That wasn't it at all. I just wanted to tell you that I think I love you. In fact, I am almost positive that I do."  
  
Severus inhaled sharply, caught completely by surprise by her frank admission. Of course, Hermione was always one to speak her mind, but he had not expected anyone ever to say those words to him. No one ever had. Severus leaned down to kiss her.  
  
Then he stopped short and his eyes widened as he realized what she had actually been telling him, what she was saying behind those words:  
  
"If I don't make it, I want you to know ..." those words were left unsaid, but he could still hear them as he looked into her soft brown eyes.  
  
"No!" he breathed, grabbing her by the shoulders and giving her a good, hard shake. "No! You mustn't say things like that!"  
  
"Severus?" she asked, frowning in confusion. "You didn't want me to tell you that I love you?"  
  
"That isn't it at all. I just don't want you to say such things now when you are only saying them because ... because of what is to come. It isn't right!"  
  
"But the circumstances do not make those words any less true, Severus."  
  
He looked into her eyes for a long time, searching and desperate, before he could believe her.   
  
Hermione smiled and laughed softly, pulling him into her arms. She was anxious about the sprint between the trophy room hearth and the mirror in the secret passageway. She had fought off a demon before with Ginny's help. This time she would be alone, walking into the unknown. And she would try to walk into it unafraid.  
  
She savored those few minutes of holding Severus close, drawing comfort from the fierce resolve that he had demonstrated, from the passion in his voice, and knew that whether she managed the feat or not, she would give anything that stood in her way a run for its money.  
  
"Are you ready to go then?" Hermione questioned as he gently combed his fingers through her hair.  
  
"I suppose." he answered indifferently.  
  
  
Hermione called Ginny and Remus back into the room and tried to smile as much for the benefit of the youngest Gryffindor as for Severus, who was standing before the mirror on his own two feet and looking a bit pale. As much as he might have wanted Hermione to believe that he was nearly recovered, Severus had to concede, privately at least, that he had been through something of an ordeal. He read over the incantation silently and returned the parchment to Remus with a curt nod.  
  
The werewolf accepted the slip of paper back from his colleague and smiled in encouragement as he placed his hands on Ginny's shoulders.  
  
"Good luck, Severus." he told him.  
  
"Thanks." said the potions' master with a slight sneer as he drew his wand. "See that you keep the students safe in my absence." he added.  
  
"Of course."  
  
Severus pointed his wand at the looking glass and spoke the magic words. He wasn't certain what the exact effect of the spell would be, and he had only a split second to wonder after its casting. It was rather like using a port key, only instead of being dragged forward stomach first at a gut-wrenching speed, he was pulled wand-first toward the mirror, which seemed to widen to accommodate him. Time seemed to pause around him. The whole world stilled and silenced as the silvery surface approached. Severus closed his eyes as something cold washed over him.  
  
~  
  
  
The next thing Severus was aware of was hitting the floor with a loud thump and the breath being knocked out of him. He felt dizzy as he opened his eyes and found himself looking at several pairs of feet. The stone floor was hard and cold beneath his cheek, but welcome nonetheless. It meant that he was out of the mirror. He groaned as his breath returned. Someone's hands were suddenly beneath his shoulders, hauling him into a seated position and propping him up. Severus found himself staring into the twinkling blue eyes of Albus Dumbledore. His head was still spinning as he noticed Poppy Pomfrey kneeling next to him as well.  
  
Relief, stronger than the dizziness that was just beginning to fade, washed over him like a warm breeze. He was home again and among friends. The incantation had worked. He was safe, and the others would be soon too.   
  
Only the headmaster saw the expression in the eyes of his colleague and the accompanying tears, which were swiftly blinked away. The aging professor smiled at him at patted his hand comfortingly. He could see how much the younger man had been through during the previous days by simply looking into his coal black eyes. Dumbledore, though he had once imprisoned a terrible Dark Wizard in the realm Severus had just escaped, could not truly say that he knew its horrors. He could now see some small portion of them in the eyes of Severus Snape.  
  
"That was quite an entrance, Severus." commented Dumbledore, wanting to say more, but knowing better than to do so in front of Minerva and her Gryffindors, or Poppy for that matter. Severus would not have appreciated the gesture.  
  
"Thank you." Snape replied.  
  
"We should get you to the hospital wing, if you can manage it." said Madam Pomfrey crisply as she began examining him, wasting no time.  
  
"No, I don't need to go. I wish to wait for the others. I must know whether they make back safely or not." objected Severus as she unbuttoned the front of his robes.  
  
The headmaster raised his eyebrows at the claw marks the stretched across his chest. They appeared to have been quite deep when they were first delivered, though they were healing nicely.  
  
"Severus ..." Albus began to say. "Poppy? What do you think?"  
  
"He can go, headmaster, just so long as he takes it easy and reports to the hospital wing immediately afterward. His injuries are not life threatening. Whoever tended these wounds did an admirable job." commented Pomfrey.  
  
"It was Hermione." Severus told her, accepting a helping hand from Dumbledore as he stood. He swayed for a moment and grimaced as Minerva McGonagall helped Albus to steady him. "I can manage." he muttered.  
  
"Of course you can, Severus." she said with an amused look. "But perhaps you can manage a bit better with a little help."  
  
"Professor Dumbledore, shouldn't we go up to the North Tower now? Ginny is sure to be along soon ..." Ron Weasley remarked, trying to contain his impatience.  
  
Harry and Ron had been waiting as patiently as either of them knew how, but both were eager to see Ginny, Hermione, and Remus again. Neither of the young men would have admitted to feeling any relief at seeing their potions' professor, but even Ron was a little glad to see him come flying out of the mirror. If nothing else, it proved that it could be done.  
  
"Quite right." Dumbledore agreed. "To the tower then."  
  
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A/N: I can't think of anything.  
  
  
Phoenix Flight: I am aware of the age difference (actually, all three of them *grins*). Thanks for the reviews!  
  
Michelle: I think I can safely say the Ron would be leery of anyone who came anywhere near Ginny. She is his only sister and younger to boot. As for the other questions, impossible remains impossible, but they were very interesting to think about and I thank you. I don't know if the Albus and Minerva story will be 'Grindelwald-centric', but time will tell. Thank again!  
  
Myranya: Nothing is ever perfectly safe. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
BLV: Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Slythdor: I'm glad you enjoyed that line. Thank you for the review!  
  
Hermia: I don't think it would be giving anything away to say that it won't be too easy. Severus only gets a break because he's been tortured enough. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
JoeBob1379: I can't answer most of your questions (either because I don't have an answer or because it would give something away), but I can answer one of them. "Will any of them kind of want to stay?" Er, no, I don't believe they will. Maybe, if this all works out for them (and I am not saying it will!) they could look back on it with a sort of nostalic fondness, but want to stay? With those _things_ running around? Unlikely. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Enfluerage: Snape gives a lot of detentions, so if there were an accident (especially involving potions), that makes it more likely that it would happen to him. How often does Vector or Hagrid or Binns give detentions, I wonder? Snape might sign up to give extra ones to torment students (or to entertain himself). But I do admit that the chances of Remus showing up just in time ... would be improbable. I am an argumentative person by nature (and hope that my little defense does not offend). As for Snape taking the easier route ... I am inclined to believe that he knows his limitations. He's injured (and hates to admit it even to himself) whereas no one else is, but knows that the likelihood of him making it to the other mirrors is small (except for the Divination room mirror). But on top of all this, they need to be sure the spell would work. They needed a guinea pig. Really, imagine leaving the safety of the warded rooms without knowing for sure that the incantation is right ... Ah, well, there you have it. Thank you very much for the insightful review!  
  
Blue Moon: I am updating as quickly as I can. Thank you for the review!  
  
Rosmerta: Nothing is ever really simple. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
plastic: Wow ... Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Faith: Good luck on your midterms and thanks for the review!  
  
Yukito Forever: Thank you!  
  
sstopper: Thanks for reviewing!  
  
SlithernGirl: *blushes* Thank you!  
  
AnnabelleElizabeth: About the voice, I totally agree. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
LadyTiffany: Yes, he was ... and her head of house too. You didn't miss anything. Thank you for the very flattering review!  
  
Sci-Fi Nut: Better late than never. *grins* Thanks for reviewing!  
  
honey_cookies24: I am working on a companion piece. I don't know about a sequel ... But thanks for asking and for reviewing!  
  
  



	23. In which Remus and Ginny travel by floo

Chapter Twenty-three  
  
In which Remus and Ginny travel by floo  
  
  
  
The trio, having witnessed Snape's departure from the demon realm through the mirror, had walked into the parlor. Hermione was both relieved and nervous. Severus had escaped. But the road ahead of her seemed long and perilous. She reminded herself constantly that Ginny, Remus, and she had wandered through the castle unaware and unprotected at the beginning of their adventure and nothing terrible had befallen them. Perhaps their luck would hold just a little longer.  
  
"But the demons know where we are and they just might know the exits too." she thought grimly as they stood before the hearth in the parlor.  
  
"I'll go first and make sure that the classroom is safe." said Remus mostly to Ginny, with whom he shared a destination.  
  
"Be careful." Ginny cautioned him.  
  
"I will be." Remus assured her. Turning to Hermione, he said, "I don't know what to tell you. Trust your instincts and don't let Severus down. See you on the other side of the mirror."  
  
"Of course." Hermione nodded as he left the parlor by floo, leaving the pot of powder with Ginny, who seemed to be holding on to it for dear life.  
  
"He'll be all right." said Ginny.  
  
"That's the spirit." said Hermione with a reassuring smile.  
  
A few minutes later a head appeared in the fireplace.  
  
"Come on, Ginny, the coast is clear." Remus told her.  
  
Only an instant later Ginny had disappeared through the floo as well, leaving Hermione to steel her nerves and make her way to her own destination.  
  
"I can do this." she told herself, taking a handful of powder.  
  
  
The Divinations classroom was dark and lit only by the light of Remus's wand. It was rather cold too. Remus had found the proper mirror for her and was standing by it when Ginny came out of the fireplace. Ginny shivered as she looked out the open window and into the impenetrable, inky blackness that surrounded the castle. It was as frightening as anything she had seen, including the monster that had mauled Professor Snape.  
  
"Don't fret, Ginny. You'll be back home with your brother before long, just come and say the spell." Remus told her, trying to sound cheerful.  
  
"What about you?" she whispered.  
  
Remus brushed her red hair away from her face and kissed her lightly on the bridge of her nose. He knew that it would be a close thing if he managed it at all. The prefects' bath was a good distance away, but it was his only chance. He wasn't afraid. He said seen too much in his life to fear for himself in that situation. And his heart was scarlet and gold through and through. It was enough for him if he managed to save Severus and the girls, especially this young and beautiful red-headed girl who seemed for some inexplicable reason to love him. If he feared anything as he stood in that cold tower and looked up the void outside, then Remus feared for Hermione and what would become of Ginny if he did not make it. But he knew that Ginny was strong.  
  
"Ginny, I've trained my entire life for something like this. Just be waiting for me on the other side and don't worry." Remus told her.  
  
She looked into his eyes and felt comforted by the strength and confidence that she saw in their depths, and she smiled at him. Of all the things that she loved about Remus, his gentle and ever-present inner strength was the one that mattered most to her at that moment.  
  
"I'll do my best." she said.  
  
"Go on then." he said, stepping away from the mirror.  
  
Just as Ginny raised her wand, something previously unnoticed in the dark room swooped from the high ceiling, where it had lain in wait among the rafters, with its teeth and claws bared. It bowled Ginny over before she could ever scream, its talons sinking into the back of her robes, rending the fabric as though it were mere silk. Her wand tumbled from her hand, clattering upon the floor in the darkness. Had she been alone, that would have been it for her. But luckily she had Remus Lupin there to come to her aid.  
  
Ginny could not hear the spell words that he used over her own screams as she felt the cruel claws of the demon rake down her back, but a moment later it was shrieking in pain and anguish and scuttling away from her. There was a flash of color in the dark room, and the screams of the demon ended very suddenly. Ginny remained frozen on the floor, quivering with fear and gasping for breath as her wounds throbbed with pain.  
  
Remus knelt next to her on the floor, trembling with a mixture of both fear and rage. Her clothes had been torn from the collar to the waist, exposing her back to the sharp claws of the beast that had attacked her, but the marks it had left were thankfully shallow. Remus pulled her robes closed over the cuts and hushed her softly.   
  
The room had seemed empty. He had stood in it, checking the corners and listening for any sound of a demonic presence. Remus had been so certain that it was vacant of anything harmful that he had pocketed his wand for a few minutes during his search for the mirror. This was the last thing he had expected. He should have known better, or so he was thinking as he clumsily used his wand to mend Ginny's robe.  
  
"I'm sorry." he whispered into her ear.  
  
Ginny managed to nod mutely as he caressed her hair. The pain was still very intense, but the fear and panic had begun to fade.  
  
"I'm so sorry, Ginny, but you must get up now." Remus whispered, tugging her to her feet and picking up her wand from the floor.  
  
Her face was as pale as he had ever seen it. He kissed her softly on the forehead and held her close as he pressed her wand into her hand again, closing her fingers around it.  
  
"Can you still say the spell?" he questioned as she buried her face in his robes. He tried not to touch her back. If he had been more skilled in healing magic, he would have done something for her.  
  
"I think so, Remus." she sniffed.  
  
"Then you should do it now. Someone needs to ... take a look at your back."  
  
"I know." she said unflinchingly, pulling away and wiping her eyes. "And ... it wasn't your fault."  
  
"Thank you, Ginny."  
  
"I'm ready."  
  
The pain was excruciating as she stepped in front of the looking glass and raised her wand. Her wand arm trembled, and her lips felt thick as she cast the spell. She thought she was going to faint as she was wrenched forward and into the mirror. She cried out in agony and surprise as the coldness of the looking glass hit her like an icy breeze that stung when it rushed over her wounds.  
  
~  
  
  
Harry and Ron had just finished moving two chairs and a table out of the immediate vicinity of the mirror at Dumbledore's request when Miss Weasley came tumbling through the looking glass and landed none too gently upon the floor on the Divinations classroom.  
  
"Ginny!" Ron yelled as she remained on the floor, not moving nor making a sound.  
  
"Oh, dear!" said Madam Pomfrey, who had been standing with Minerva and Albus beside a comfortable chair in which Severus had collapsed, exhausted by the quick march from the dungeons to the tower. The mediwitch dashed to Ginny's side as Ron knelt and shook his sister by the shoulder.  
  
"What's wrong with her? Is she all right?" questioned Ron as Poppy swished her wand over the prone girl.  
  
"She seems to have past out." said Pomfrey.   
  
She touched Ginny's robes to find them damp. Her fingertips were red with blood. Her eyes widened and she gasped aloud, but she wasted no time conjuring a magic stretcher and levitating Ginny on to it.  
  
"What happened to her?" asked Ron to no one in particular.  
  
"They must have been attacked." said Severus who was leaning forward in his seat with an uncharacteristically concerned look upon his face.  
  
"Then Remus ...?" questioned Minerva, putting her hand to her mouth.  
  
"Surely they defeated whatever attacked them or Miss Weasley would not have come through the mirror." said Dumbledore logically.  
  
"I'm taking her to the hospital wing. If the others need medical attention ..." Poppy began to say.  
  
"They will be brought to you straight away." nodded the headmaster. "Minerva, perhaps you should accompany your student and contact her parents."  
  
"What about Miss Granger?" McGonagall questioned, obviously torn. She had a responsibility to both girls.  
  
"I will take care of her, if necessary." said Severus. "As she did for me."  
  
Minerva hesitated, looking her much younger colleague in the eye as he made the offer.   
  
How rare it was to hear a Slytherin, the head of that house especially, offer to help a Gryffindor in any way! The animosity ... It had always been that way. It was uncanny for it to be otherwise. Before Severus held the position and before she held hers, Professor Krohn had been just the same. Minerva wondered how Albus had secured Reynard's help before becoming headmaster, what argument or promises he had made to gain the former potions' master's assistance in banishing Grindelwald. She made a mental note to ask him at some later date.  
  
"Believe me, Minerva, I can conjure a stretcher as well as any wizard." said Severus, noticing her reluctance.  
  
"Of course. Thank you, Severus." she finally agreed, turning and following Madam Pomfrey, Ron Weasley, and the stretcher bearing Ginny Weasley out of the tower.  
  
"Come, Severus, you have a date with Miss Granger. And I believe that someone should be waiting for Remus as well." said Professor Dumbledore.  
  
"What about me, sir?" asked Harry, who suddenly had this sinking feeling in his stomach.  
  
"Go with Professor Snape, Harry. He may need some assistance."  
  
~  
  
  
Remus stepped out of the North Tower slowly, his eyes adjusting to the pale light of the magical torches that burned along the walls, and looked around warily. The tower staircase had been empty and eerily quiet. But not here. Even as he stepped into the corridor, he could hear them, hear their wings moving restlessly. They lined the corridor from one end to the other, like soldiers forming ranks, one long line of them upon his left and one upon his right. They were all looking his direction with their yellow eyes shining in the dim light. Dozens of them ... just standing there ... as though they were waiting for something ... or someone.  
  
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A/N: Another evil cliffhanger.  
  
  
coolgirlchic16: Harry and Ginny? That is the the only 'ship that comes close to squicking me. Sorry, I know it's half canon, but I just cannot take it. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
plastic: Yeah, that would have been funny. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Serenity Raye: I will try to post a link at WIKTT sometime soon. The last time I did so, I waited until the story was complete. Thank you very much reviewing!  
  
Aras: I have never driven anyone loony before. Thanks for the review!  
  
Rosmerta: Squishy? That about covers it, I guess. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
awakening: You're welcome! Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Yukito Forever: Awesomeness monkies? Really? Cool! Severus and Ron? That will be the day! Thanks for the review!  
  
JoeBob1379: Good clarification. *nods in agreement* Thank you for reviewing!  
  
LadyTiffany: Thank you very much!  
  
islandgirl: It seemed like a logical place to stop. Thanks for the review!  
  
lil pixie: Nothing should ever be too easy. I guess this chapter answered your question. As for the pairing up *sweats*, I'm having trouble handling the reactions. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Slythdor: Ron and Severus friends? *chortles* Not very likely. Thank you for the review!  
  
PhoenixFeather7: I saw the movie/mini-series or whatever it was. Very creepy. I didn't think about it while writing this though. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Aine Deande: I'm glad you enjoyed the Severus/Hermione scene. It was one of those weird things that practically wrote itsself. Thanks for the review!  
  
AnnabelleElizabeth: Thank you for reviewing!  
  
SlytherinQueen87: As dense as Ron is (in my opinion), will he even have noticed yet? I don't know (which is weird, I know). I don't want to say when the story will end because that might spoil it. Thanks for the review!  
  
BARBIE GIRL: Wow. Thank you for the heart-felt review!  
  
Claire Bear Blondie: Thank you!  
  
  



	24. In which Remus has a meaningful conversa...

Chapter Twenty-four  
  
In which Remus has a meaningful conversation with evil  
  
  
  
Remus felt his mouth go dry as he counted them, keeping his wand raised defensively. He knew that if they attacked, he would be dead in mere moments. The numbers were phenomenally against him. But they weren't moving. The demons weren't making a sound either. They were simply watching him. And he could not begin to fathom why. It was in the nature of these creatures to attack, to kill, and to devour.  
  
He stepped forward and waited for them to react. They remained still. Remus shivered slightly as he continued to walk forward. He wasn't sure how many he could take out before they began attacking, even if he had the first shot. Not enough, he felt. They could move very swiftly. The monsters had proved that more than once, thinking of Ginny and feeling a sudden flash of anger.   
  
Remus wanted to pit himself against them for a moment, but remembering Ginny, he knew that he had to make it past them no matter what it took. He couldn't let his anger overwhelm the more important things, like his feelings for her. And she was depending on him. She was waiting for him.  
  
At the end of the corridor a larger demon, more impressive than those who lined the corridor, appeared, blocking the route to the prefects' bath. Remus froze in his tracks. The demon spread its black, leathery wings and eyed him with a cool, but unnerving gaze, snarling rather menacingly.  
  
"You are a Dark Creature. You are the werewolf." it stated in a guttural voice that made Remus's knees weaken at the very sound.  
  
For a moment he wondered where it had learned English. Then he remembered Grindelwald, who probably spoke that language and many others. Perhaps he had conversed with the hoard. Remus almost shuddered at the thought.  
  
"I am." answered Remus, holding his wand before him.  
  
"They have imprisoned you with us?"  
  
Remus realized his danger. This was obviously a more powerful demon. The others would probably heed his commands. And attack if he instructed them to do so.  
  
"In a manner of speaking." he replied.  
  
The demon bared its teeth as it said, "But you are human too. You have a way out of this place."  
  
"Perhaps."  
  
"We are trapped here forever and can wreak no more havoc in the world of men, but your hands are not so tied. You will go for us."  
  
"Go for you?"  
  
"You are a werewolf, and you have the ability to return and kill and destroy where we have been denied."  
  
Remus knew what the demon was saying. They were not attacking him because they saw him as a kindred being, another creature of darkness. To them he was just another capable killer, evil, dangerous, and no different from them. The thought made him incredibly sad, for when he was younger, he had wondered if such things were true, if a person who was a werewolf was not really a human being, but a Dark Creature who took human form twenty-five days a month, showing its true nature only when the moon was full. Often he had been filled with shame at the thought.  
  
But as he stood there in the demon filled corridor, he remembered Ginny's eyes and her fearlessness.  
  
"Then may I pass? The moon wanes again after this next night. I have not long to spare." Remus told the demon who barred his path.  
  
"Yes! You may go, werewolf, and when you kill and devour tonight, do so and remember us, your kindred in chains."  
  
"I will remember you." said Remus as the demon stepped aside for him.  
  
He struggled to keep his steps even and unhurried as he walked past the monster. As he left the corridor, Remus glanced over his shoulder to see that the demons had gone, vanished down one of the side corridors, he presumed. Remus quickened his paces up the stairs leading to the prefects' bath. It would be many years before he forgot what had transpired in the hallway at the bottom of the North Tower. And it would trouble him.  
  
  
Several floors below the corridor where Remus had conversed with a captain of demons, Hermione Granger peered out of the trophy room fireplace and listened. It was quiet that she could hear her own heart beating. Stepping from the hearth, she drew her wand and made her way from the room and into the corridor. It was lined with suits of armor and torches flicker upon the wall. Perhaps it was darker that the hall in the world she knew, but it was familiar enough. The location of the secret passageway had been described for her, and, of course, she had noticed it before on Harry's Marauder's Map.  
  
She stole through the hall carefully, counting her way to the appropriate location before slipping between the proper displays of armor.  
  
"_Lumos!_" she whispered, risking a light to see by.  
  
No one had mentioned how to open the entrance to the hidden passage. She ran one hand over the wall. There was nothing strange nor out of the ordinary about it. It was a wall like so many others in Hogwarts. But she knew that it held a secret. Again she ran her hand along the stones, wondering how she should go about opening it. If Mister Filch used it, she reasoned, then it could be opened without magic or a wand.  
  
Above the sound of her heart drumming loudly in her ears, Hermione heard another sound, the sinister resonance of many flapping wings coming from the stairs at the end of the corridor.  
  
"_Nox!_" she whispered, dousing the light.  
  
Hermione held her breath as she began lightly tapping the stones, hoping that she could trigger the door before the monsters reached her. She was certain that they were aware of her presence and were coming for her. The sound grew closer and closer. There were so many of them. Hermione could practically feel their heavy feet as they tramped upon the stone. Any moment and they would be upon her. They would find her between the suits of armor and ...  
  
Then the wall opened soundlessly before her and she slipped inside, closing the aperture behind her. She gasped for breath, not realizing that she had been holding her breath in her panic. The sound of wings and feet and hissing breath slowly grew quiet. They had passed. And she remained unnoticed.  
  
Hermione lit her wand again and started down the tunnel. It was cold enough inside that she thought she could see her breath. The passage had been sealed for some time. She waved her wand slowly to the left and right, looking for the room where the mirror was hanging. She almost stepped past it in the near darkness.  
  
She held up her light and braced for possibly attack, but none came as she stepped cautiously into the room. Something white upon the floor of the secluded reading room caught her eye. Her stomach tightened, and she gasped a loud. Bones. A human skeleton lay upon the floor near the table and benches. She stepped around it.  
  
"Grindelwald?" she wondered silently.  
  
Upon the table there were dusty books, a piece of faded parchment, and a quill. Curiosity got the better of her, and Hermione bent over it to examine it. The words scrawled upon the parchment were difficult to make out, written in a large, indelicate hand.  
  
"_Another will finish what I have started. There will always be another! Always! Evil does not die! It wanes only to wax stronger. Evil was not imprisoned here. Merely monsters. Merely a man. Always stronger. Until the end of time._"  
  
The last words penned by the Dark Wizard Grindelwald before he starved and died in that little room, unable to leave it because of the demons outside and unable to use the mirror without his wand.  
  
Hermione shivered and approached the mirror on the far wall. She took a deep breath and spoke the incantation. Then she was drawn home through its silvery surface.  
  
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A/N: Sometimes I can't access all of the reviews before I post, so if I haven't responded in some way to a review. It is because it won't appear on the review menu screen thingy. I try not to ignore anyone.  
  
  
Lexia: I think this chapter answered your questions. I wanted to torture Grindelwald (because I imagine him as just scary, scary evil and I'm sadistic) and this was the best I could do. Maybe something about him will be in one of the other books. It would be kind of interesting. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
plastic: *blinks* Okay then. Interesting. Thank you for the review!  
  
vicsend: I'm glad that you didn't mind the cliffhanger too much. I only do that when there is a really good place to do it. Thanks for the review!  
  
yawn: I will try to update earlier in the future, but my schedule is a little weird. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
hermia: Thank you very much for reviewing!  
  
Janet: As far as I can tell most of your questions were answered within chapter. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Witchy-grrl: You and I must be on the same wavelength or something. Weird. Your review was very insighful. Thanks!  
  
BLV: Sorry it took so long for me to reply to your email. Thank you very much for the review!  
  
janmmci: Here you go. More. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Lily of the Shadow: Will Albus and Minerva ever get together? I don't know ... Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Whitney: I am pleased that you enjoyed the end of the chapter. Thanks for the review!  
  
  



	25. In which Harry and Snape make each other...

Chapter Twenty-five  
  
In which Harry and Snape make each other uncomfortable  
  
  
  
Harry had matured a lot since the beginning of the war, but he still saw his potions' professor as his personal adversary, even if they supported the same cause. Nothing but a direct order from Dumbledore would ever have caused him to touch the man. But the headmaster had indeed ordered him to help Snape to the secret chamber where Hermione would be coming through her assigned looking glass. Harry had seen the marks on Snape's chest and thought them quite grisly, but he did not realize how serious, how close of a call it had been, until he rather unwillingly helped the professor down the stairs of the tower and toward their destination. Severus was still weak from the incredible loss of blood. His steps were ungainly, which was very surprising because of the gracefully gliding manner in which Snape normally moved through the castle.  
  
For his part, Severus would rather have had the aid of almost any student or faculty member, but, no, he had to have the Boy-Who-Lived acting as his escort, walking through the hallway where anyone might see them. The gossip would not end for years and years if any student saw the menacing potions' professor walking with Harry Potter's arm around him. Severus was well aware that Potter's arm was the only thing that kept him from pitching either backward or forward and landing in a heap, but he still resented the possible implications. If Hermione were not in the forefront of his thoughts, that consequence might have been vastly preferable, but as it was, Severus felt as though he wouldn't be able to breathe properly until he saw her again, safe and sound, and hopefully smiling.  
  
When they reached the chamber wherein the magical mirror hung, Harry deposited Snape upon one of the benches and took a seat on the other one himself. Severus looked pale and anxious in the dim light.  
  
Of course, in Snape's opinion, Harry looked as though he had not been sleeping very well, which was perfectly true. All of his energy had gone into the search, but the professor didn't know that. Truthfully, he suspected it, but Severus also knew of Potter's penchant for after hours activities that were not authorized.  
  
"Who taught my classes while I was ... indisposed?" questioned Professor Snape. Hermione's need to make conversation had already managed to rub off on him.  
  
"Classes were canceled, professor." answered Harry.  
  
Snape raised his eyebrows at this bit of news. He imagined that the headmaster had found someone to fill in for himself, not to mention Professor Lupin. Apparently not.  
  
"Really?" he questioned.  
  
"All of the professors took part in the searches as well as the prefects and Ron and myself. The castle was turned inside out at least twice." Harry informed him.  
  
Professor Snape would probably have inquired more deeply into the matter, but just then someone came flying out of the mirror on the wall, landing on the floor with a loud smack and narrowly missing the rough hewn table with her head. Harry winced at how close she had come.  
  
"That is one wild ride." said Hermione from the floor, laughing as she looked up at Severus and Harry.  
  
"Are you all right then?" questioned Severus as she scrambled up and brushed off her robes.  
  
"None the worse for wear, I suppose. You look ghastly, Severus. Or should I say I say ghostly? Honestly, don't you belong in the hospital wing?" she questioned, lifting his chin to examine his color.  
  
Harry's eyes were as round as saucers as he watched Hermione brush Snape's hair back with her fingertips. Never mind the fact that she was calling him by his first name. Then Snape did something unexpected. He smiled. It was a condescending or mean-spirited sneer. Or a nasty and superior smirk. The thing that touched his lips was nothing less than an ordinary smile. And it was so weird to see it on _his_ face.  
  
"I told you that it was my intention to be waiting for you, did I not?" Severus questioned.  
  
"Yes, but please tell me that you have been seen to in the meantime." she said.  
  
"Of course I have. I am expected in the hospital wing soon."  
  
Hermione turned to her friend who was still watching the scene before him in utter disbelief and asked, "Is it so, Harry? Did Madam Pomfrey examine him yet?"  
  
"Yes, she did." he replied.  
  
"Thank you, Potter." said Snape.  
  
Harry frowned at him and waited for the scathing remark that was sure to follow. It never came. Or if it did, it was days later. The professor turned his attention back to Hermione. His smile became a slightly smirk.  
  
"What of Remus and Ginny?" she inquired.  
  
"Ginny is in the hospital wing. I don't know how it happened, but she was attacked, we believe, by one of those things." Severus told her gently. "Professor Dumbledore is still awaiting Remus's return." he added.  
  
"He has a long way to go." said Hermione softly.  
  
"He does, but Remus is a force to be reckoned with." Severus acknowledged.  
  
Harry blinked. Had Severus Snape just complimented Remus Lupin, known werewolf and Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher? How uncanny was that!  
  
"Maybe we should go check and see ..." said Harry timidly.  
  
"Quite right." Hermione agreed, helping Severus to his feet. "Unless you would rather go to the hospital wing." she suggested.  
  
"Not at all. I want to see if Remus has kept that sorry skin of his in one piece." chuckled Severus, putting an arm around her shoulder. She slipped an arm comfortably around his waist. He suddenly frowned. "Potter, run ahead, would you?" he ordered with a modicum of civility, which was quite a bit more than Harry was accustomed to. Harry nodded and left quite speedily.  
  
"Severus?" Hermione questioned.  
  
"I am not certain that it would be wise for us to be seen together in this fashion." he said. Her face fell. "No, you misunderstand, Hermione. I merely state this as a matter of necessity. You know of the roles that I play. There are those within the school that might find our association suspect."  
  
"I can hide my affection for you, Severus. You need only ask me to do so. We are fighting a war. I'm not a little girl. I understand the facts quite well. But could you not tell them that you are trying to recruit me to use me for my skills? I am young, but I already have a reputation, do I not?" inquired Hermione.  
  
"I could also say that I have you under a spell, but the result would be the same. There would be questions that I would be forced to answer in less than ideal circumstances."  
  
"Under the Cruciatus curse you mean." she said flatly. He touched her hair and sighed softly.  
  
"Don't think of such things, Hermione. I can see it in your eyes ..."  
  
"What would you have me do?"  
  
"It is a terrible thing to ask a woman to love in secret, but I would ask it of you, Hermione, at least for now, for a little while. The war will not last forever. We will prevail."  
  
Hermione shivered and closed her eyes as the last written words of Grindelwald came back to her: _evil does not die ... always stronger ... until the end of time_.  
  
"Are you so certain?"  
  
"Look at me." he demanded, cupping her face in his hands for a second time.  
  
Hermione slowly opened her warm brown eyes and peered into the earnest depths of his.  
  
"In your eyes, I see the end of the war. I see the courage to fight the battles. I see the hope needed always to continue the struggle against evil. I see the strength to rise from the ashes if it is necessary. It's all in there. If only you could see it too." Severus told her fervently.  
  
"I will try, Severus."  
  
"Then until the war ends, we cannot show our feelings openly."  
  
"So be it."  
  
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A/N: Still a few more chapters to go.  
  
  
Arsinoe: I always like it when Remus gets the girl too. I agree with you about the age difference. Twenty years would be more like ten with their life span. Not that twenty bothers me (I have friends *grins*). Thank you for reviewing!  
  
miss_edith: That wasn't the end (though a surprising number of people thought so). Thank you for your compliments and for reviewing!  
  
plastic: Ah ... sweet relativism! The struggle between good and evil is a thing of fiction, but it makes it more fun, like a sport. Pick a team and root them on. *shrugs* Good points though. I mostly agree. Thanks for the review!  
  
Yukito Forever: Er ... I will keep that in mind. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Enfleurage: Thank you very much for reviewing!  
  
Christine: They are? *blinks, does a quick head count, and wanders off* Thank you for the review!  
  
LadyTiffany: Thank you!  
  
Dramaqueen: Er ... not quite over. I'm working on a Grindelwald era companion piece (which might be done ... soon). Thanks for reviewing!  
  
The Draven Cats: I try very hard to keep the characters IC (Severus tends to wander toward niceness and Remus wants to mope). It's weird. The mood was helped along by the fact that I write really late at night (when it's dark and all quiet and cold). I'm hope you were able to get enough sleep! Er ... it's not quite over yet. We've got loose ends here. Thank you for the very positive reviews!  
  
hermia: I think this chaper answers some of your questions. Thanks for the review!  
  
PhoenixFeather7: Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Aine Deande: I would never have guessed that anyone would have enjoyed the head demon scene thing that much. I was concerned that people would be disappointed that it wasn't Grindelwald (I didn't re-write because ... I'm stubborn). I really appreciate on comments on that part. As for continuing the story (after the next few chapters, I mean) *sweats* I have some ideas for a sequel, mostly thanks to everyone who's been reviewing, but I started sketching it out and have gotten stuck ... already *smacks head on writing desk*. So I can't say what will happen with that. I hate writing summaries more than I can say, so the chapter titles give me an almost tongue-in-cheek way of updating the summary with actually having to do that. Glad you like them. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
coolgirlchic16: Yeah, poor Remus. Thanks for the review!  
  
Helen: Good question. Probably Severus looked more haunted, dazed, tired, or traumatized than usual (or some combination thereof). Sorry, I don't he's possessed or something, if that's what you're asking. It would have been a neat idea though. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
AnnabelleElizabeth: Thanks for the review!  
  
EmpressSarah: I'm glad you enjoyed that scene. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Serenity Raye: I'm sorry you feel let down. I thought the scariness of the approaching demons, not to mention the bones, would have been sufficiently bad for Hermione. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
SlytherinQueen87: Thank you very much for the review!  
  
Rhianna: I am endeavoring, as always, to update in a timely fashion. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
JoeBob1379: This is amazing! You totally understand how Remus would have felt (even better than I do, I think). Very insightful. *counts escapees and scratches head* I've got three. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Kendall: *blushes* Thank you very much for the review!  
  
Lily of the Shadow: Sorry to let you down about Grindelwald. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Aislinn: I'm glad you liked that part! Thank you for the review!  
  
Elfmoon87: What happens next? That would be telling. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
  



	26. In which Remus and Ginny are reunited

Chapter Twenty-six  
  
In which Remus and Ginny are reunited  
  
  
  
Remus stood at the entrance to the prefects' bath and ran his hands through his graying hair as he tried to remember the password. It was not one that he used very often. In fact he had not entered the bath since his own school days when he would come there to swim and horse around with James, who was a prefect, and Sirius, who had been the best mischief-maker of his day. That was many long years ago. And he felt certain that the password had probably changed. He had come to the end of his luck.  
  
He considered trying to blast his way into the bath, but he what if he damaged the mirror, his only ticket home? What then? Remus knew that he couldn't risk it.  
  
"Lemon scented." he tried. Nothing.  
  
Remus leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. Why was it so difficult to remember? The old password ... He had heard James use it a hundred times and had even used it himself once or twice.  
  
"Squeaky clean." he guessed, remembering vaguely that the password had something to do with cleanliness. Mister Filch had probably come up with it, or his predecessor.  
  
"Pine fresh." he hesitated, holding his breath.  
  
The door opened, and Remus exhaled with relief as he stepped into the bath. The picture frame on the wall that normally held an image of a mermaid was empty. Remus wondered what had happened to the inhabitants of all the castle pictures. When the facsimile Hogwarts had been made, had the Founders made it so that the images were not sent into the demon realm or had the demons somehow destroyed the occupants of the portraits? In all fairness, Remus did not wish to know, but he hoped that the first of those hypotheses were true.  
  
Next to the empty frame was a small golden looking glass. Remus smiled when he saw it. It was just the sort of thing that might go unnoticed by nearly everyone who walked into the room, just another ornament on the wall. Who could have guessed the importance or the usefulness of something so small and seemingly inconsequential? Probably none of the prefects, past or present, who made use of the private bath. Remus chuckled as he stood before the mirror, looking at his reflection and raising his wand. It was finally time to go home. He hoped that Hermione had fared so well.  
  
~  
  
  
There was a brief moment as Remus was pulled through the mirror at some speed when he wondered if he would come out of the looking glass and land in the bath. He was, of course, quite relieved when he tumbled on the marble floor instead, skidding to a halt at someone's feet. He laughed aloud when he looked up at Professor Dumbledore, who was gazing down at him with an amused and rather pleased expression, and scrambled up from the floor.  
  
"Well done, Remus." said the headmaster, clapping the young professor on the shoulder. "Some of us were becoming rather worried." he commented, glancing over his spectacles at Severus and Hermione by the door and Harry on the other side of the room.  
  
While Harry had arrived quite a while ago, the potions' professor and Hermione had just arrived a few moments earlier. In the privacy of the prefects' bath, they were permitted to stand close to one another again, but the journey upward from the secluded reading room had been less amicable due to the fact that a few students wandering the halls after lunch had been watching them.  
  
Any who had seen the two would have believed it to be business as usual. Snape had looked surly, and Hermione had looked thoroughly victimized by his constant nasty remarks and his feigned, but rather realistic attempt to shrug her off as she had helped him along the corridor. It had been completely necessary, especially since they had encountered several Slytherins whose loyalties Severus found rather suspect.  
  
"You certainly took your sweet time. What kept you?" asked the potions' master.  
  
Severus had been concerned and genuinely so, but he certainly wasn't going to let Remus know that. He would never have heard the end of it if he had.  
  
"A hallway full of demons, one of whom wished to chat." answered Remus enigmatically. "And I had forgotten the password to the bath." he admitted with a half smile.  
  
"Typical." snorted Severus, choosing to ignore the absurd seeming demon remark.  
  
"Well, we are all very glad to see that you made it back safely, Remus." said Hermione, giving Severus a quick glare.  
  
"And I am glad to be here." he told her with a nod. "Now, what about Ginny? Is she all right?" Remus asked Professor Dumbledore.  
  
"She will be fine. Miss Weasley is in the hospital wing, where I believe another of our number also has an appointment." said Albus, looking at Severus quite pointedly. "Perhaps we should all go and visit her.  
  
  
Ginny had regained consciousness not long after Madam Pomfrey had begun to apply a cooling and healing balm to the shallow scratches across her back, which were then bandaged. Ginny was very fortunate. The injuries could easily have been worse by far. Remus had acted faster than Hermione and Ginny had managed to act when Severus had been in similar straits.  
  
"Where's Remus?" she asked Madam Pomfrey quietly.  
  
"Quiet now. You need to rest while those nasty marks heal." Pomfrey cautioned her.  
  
She had sent Ginny's brother with Professor McGonagall to speak to his family because the young man was making a nuisance of himself. Mister Weasley had been under foot in the hospital wing, which was something Madam Pomfrey never encouraged. She hoped Minerva would send him elsewhere when she returned.  
  
"But I want to see Remus. Where is he?" she questioned with some persistence.  
  
"On his way, I'm sure." was the mediwitch's answer.  
  
Ginny closed her eyes and felt her stomach knot. Her faith in Remus was very strong, but not unshakable. She wasn't certain how long she had been unconscious. It was only about half an hour, if that, but Ginny had expected, when she opened her eyes, she had expected or at least hoped that Remus would be there. Ginny shivered. Something must have happened, or he would be there.  
  
"Don't fret, child. Remus is much stronger than you think. He only looks frail and tired." Madam Pomfrey told her, sensing her rising anxiety. "Believe me, I've known him many years longer than you have, dear." she chuckled.  
  
"Thank you." whispered Ginny.  
  
  
Ginny was beginning to drift to sleep, thanks to the potions and treatments Madam Pomfrey had given her and applied to her injuries, when she heard the sound of quiet voices nearby and felt someone gently brushing her hair from her face. Fingertips lovingly caressed her cheek.  
  
"And she will recover fully?" questioned a grave and quiet masculine voice.  
  
"Oh, yes, Remus, Ginny Weasley will be just fine. She needs several days of bed rest, of course, and I would like to examine her again in a few days just to be safe. But otherwise I believe that she can be released when she wakes up." she heard Madam Pomfrey saying.  
  
"Can I go now then?" Ginny mumbled as she lifted her eyelids and smiled sleepily at Remus.  
  
Remus grinned when he heard her speak and leaned down to kiss her. She met him half way. They kissed until Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall both cleared their throats. Remus and Ginny both blushed slightly as they broke their kiss and he pulled away.  
  
"Certainly." said Poppy, trying to look rather stern, but failing. It was impossible not to smile at the sight of the pair. "I have another patient to attend to." she added, nodding toward the privacy screens at the back of the ward where Severus and Hermione were waiting for her.  
  
"Miss Weasley, your parents will be here shortly. I have asked your brother to have Miss Brown bring a change of clothes for you in anticipation of their arrival." Professor McGonagall informed her. Lavender Brown was a prefect for Gryffindor house.  
  
"Thank you, professor." said Ginny.  
  
"I am very glad to have all my students back where they belong, and I have been informed that you handled yourself very well. I must say that I am quite proud." said McGonagall before turning on her heel and leaving Ginny with Remus.  
  
"That's a high compliment." Remus remarked when the older professor had gone.  
  
"I know."  
  
"You look much better than when you went through the mirror."  
  
"I feel better too. It hardly hurts at all."  
  
"It does my heart good to hear you say that." he said.  
  
Ginny propped up on one elbow and told him, "You saved my life, Remus! You should hardly sound, much less feel, apologetic about what happened."  
  
"But I should have protected you ..."  
  
"You did." she insisted stubbornly.  
  
Remus chuckled and said, "Whatever you say, Ginny."  
  
They were quiet for a moment before she asked him, "Where do we go from here, Remus?"  
  
"Well, I imagine you are going to Gryffindor Tower as soon as Miss Brown brings your things. And it looks like a night in the Shrieking Shack for me."  
  
"What? Why?" she asked in confusion.  
  
"The potions' accident destroyed the supply Severus had in this realm of existence along with many other draughts he keeps on hand in the classroom, though I don't really understand how, so there isn't enough Wolfsbane potion for tonight, especially since Severus didn't have sufficient time to brew that additional cauldron. I need somewhere to transform tonight, and the headmaster suggested that I return to my old haunt, so to speak."  
  
Remus looked tired and uncomfortable as he glanced toward the door to the hospital wing. Ginny squeezed his hand and gazed questioningly into his sad eyes. She had not heard what the demon had said to him. She was not ready to understand such things, but one day, he hoped that she would be ready and that he could tell her how it felt walking through the ranks of creatures who considered him one of there own, hardly better than a blood-thirsty monster.  
  
"What's the matter?" she questioned.  
  
"Nothing, Ginny. It's still early yet. I can stay and talk to your parents if you would like." he offered.  
  
"Don't worry about it, Remus. Try to rest up for tonight. I imagine that you will need your strength." she told him.  
  
Remus grinned. She understood so much. It took his breath away to think how understanding and how kind young Ginny was. He kissed her cheek and nodded.  
  
"Then I will see you tomorrow." he said.  
  
As Remus left, Ginny realized that he had never truly answered her question. Where would they go from there, she puzzled as she continued to wait.  
  
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A/N: One more chapter to go!  
  
  
Witchy-grrl: Probably not the _only_ one. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Faith: Thank you for reviewing!  
  
plastic: Yeah, not even a battle scar. Someone had to get lucky. Thank you for the review!  
  
Freedom Rhodes: I'm glad you like those lines. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Serenity Raye: I have a tendency to write Harry as level-headed and reasonable (especially as he gets older). Er ... Ron's reaction ... I haven't found a way to squeeze that in. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Yukito Forever: Thank you!  
  
Hermia: Thanks for the review!  
  
BLV: Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Enfleurage: I'm considering a sequel (because I when I started writing this it was supposed to be self-contained, like everything else I've written and it has taken on a life of its own), but I can't make any promises. I'm shocked and surprised that so many people have liked this story. I'll think about the contamination thing. It's interesting. Thank you very much for the review!  
  
meeka: Thanks for reviewing!  
  
calicat: Thank you!  
  
Rhianna: I think that conversation will stay with Remus for a while. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
JoeBob1379: Well, I'm one of those people who has fallen in love with the idea of Snape as a spy, so hiding the relationship was all but inevitable. Ginny and Remus are a bit luckier. Anyway, a hand full of people know about Hermione and Severus (Ginny, Remus, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Harry, Ron, and Madam Pomfrey), but any more would probably be a risk. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
slytherinqueen87: Hmm... I don't know if she would mention the note or not. But knowing Hermione (*chortles at utter weirdness of the statement*) she will probably think about it a lot. Thanks for the review!  
  
  



	27. In which spring and the strength of love...

Chapter Twenty-seven  
  
In which spring and the strength of love come to Hogwarts  
  
  
  
It was late that evening after many students had gone to bed or curled up in a soft chair with a good book, hours after the Gryffindor welcome home party for Hermione and Ginny, when the former of these two students found herself standing outside the apartment of her head of house who had wanted to see her. Professor McGonagall had not said in reference to what, but Hermione had a feeling that it was about Severus Snape and her relationship with him. Hermione knocked and took a deep breath. She wasn't precisely certain whether McGonagall objected or not, but she was certain that the older witch knew, as did the headmaster and Poppy Pomfrey among a few others, though the relationship was going to be a secret one. And perhaps it was better that way.  
  
"Come inside, Miss Granger." said Professor McGonagall as she opened the door. The transfigurations' professor was wearing her emerald colored robes.  
  
"You wanted to see me?"  
  
"Indeed." nodded the professor. "I wanted to tell you that you are free to use my floo at anytime. It wouldn't be easy to enter or exit the dungeons undetected otherwise, and Severus has informed me of his wish that your comings and goings go unseen and unremarked, for his sake as well as your own." McGonagall told her.  
  
Hermione looked at her with a thunderstruck expression for a moment. She had not expected help from her head of house, whose rivalry with her Slytherin counterpart was well known, though perhaps more a matter of simple tradition than anything else.  
  
"Thank you, professor." she stammered.  
  
"You know, Miss Granger, I had something of an infatuation with one of my professors when I was about your age."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Most students do at this school. It is almost like something of a tradition. If they were to make a rule against such things, three quarters of the student population would suffer and at least two of our professors would quit on principal. It would have been three at one time ..." she said with a soft sigh. Unfortunately, Hermione wasn't privy to the rumors concerning Professor Sinistra.  
  
"What happened in your case, professor? I want to know because ... I don't know anyone else who's walked this road, so to speak, except Ginny, but she hasn't seen anymore of it than I have. Unless I'm prying ..."  
  
"Not at all. I ... I chose to keep my feelings hidden from him and admire him from afar ... for the most part, though we were and are good friends. In the end I guess that I chose not, as you have phrased it, to walk that road at all. And I suppose I regretted my decision. I still do. Sometimes. Especially recently."  
  
"I hope that I won't regret mine. It won't be easy, especially with the war ... But I think it's worth the risk. I think he is definitely worth the risk."  
  
Professor McGonagall smiled at her and said, "I have known our potions professor for sometime, Miss Granger, and I can assure you that there is far more to him than meets the eye. But you are correct. It will not be easy."  
  
"They say the course of true love never runs smooth."  
  
"That they do." she agreed. "Permission to use my floo wasn't the only reason I asked you here this evening, of course." said McGonagall.  
  
"Really, professor."  
  
"Have you considered what you will do upon graduation?"  
  
"I was planning to apply for a position at the Ministry."  
  
"Unless you have your heart set on that idea, I would offer you an alternative. Professor Dumbledore has suggested that I find an assistant to help me to teach transfigurations. My other responsibilities have become heavier as of late and will only grow more burdensome as the war against Voldemort progresses. Even then, I am not so young as I was and teaching so many classes while also juggling the duties associated with being deputy-headmistress and the head of Gryffindor house is quite tiring and stressful. You are an excellent student, Miss Granger, and I would be pleased, more than pleased, to offer the position to you."  
  
Hermione was speechless. She could only stare at her professor as she felt slightly giddy at the thought of remaining at Hogwarts and teaching.  
  
"It would, of course, keep you close to Severus, which I imagine could be quite desirable. Do not feel compelled to accept the offer, however, as I know that the Ministry would also benefit from your talents. I have other candidates to choose from, though I must say that you are my first choice, Hermione." Professor McGonagall added with an uncharacteristically warm smile.  
  
"Of course I accept!" said Hermione. "I would love to have the job."  
  
"Then consider it yours."  
  
"Thank you, professor. This means so much to me."  
  
There was suddenly a rather timid knock at the door of the apartment.  
  
Stepping toward a tea set by the hearth, Professor McGonagall asked Hermione, "Would you please let Miss Weasley in while I pour us all a cup of tea?"  
  
"Of course, but how do you ...?" Hermione began to ask as she stepped toward the door.  
  
"An old trick Albus taught me quite some time ago." replied McGonagall. For a moment her eyes seemed to twinkle.  
  
Ginny gave Hermione an odd look when she opened the door for her. She had spent much of the evening getting her courage up in order to visit her head of house and transfigurations' teacher. She was rather surprised to find Hermione there.  
  
"I suppose you've come for advice too." laughed the older girl, ushering Ginny inside.  
  
"I suppose I have." agreed Ginny with a chuckle.  
  
"About Remus?" Professor McGonagall questioned, indicating that the two young women should sit while she served the tea.  
  
"Not exactly. I think I know where I stand with Remus and how I feel about him and all. I wanted advice concerning advanced transfigurations. I think I want to study to become an Animagus." Ginny explained. "Mainly so that I can always be with Remus during his transformations, potion or no." she added.  
  
"Becoming an Animagus isn't an easy thing. It requires years of study and dedication, and many people fail to achieve their goal, especially if they do not have the gift." McGonagall warned.  
  
"I know, but I have to at least try. Do you think I could possibly do it?"  
  
"Perhaps."  
  
"Would you help me, professor?"  
  
Minerva looked at Ginny for a few moments, trying to figure out what she would become if she had the necessary skill and dedication to transfigure herself into an animal. She would be a true and faithful canine, McGonagall surmised. A collie perhaps or maybe a sheep dog. Both loyal and brave beasts. She could see the ability in Ginny, in her earnest and determined eyes.  
  
"Yes, Miss Weasley, I will." she agreed.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"You may not thank me when this matter is concluded. I meant what I said. Such training is grueling and not for the faint of heart. But I believe ... that you will do fine with the proper amount of time, effort, and determination."  
  
A few minutes later as they finished up their tea, Minerva glanced at the time and told the pair, "It is getting late and I am expecting a guest soon. Perhaps you two should return to the dormitories."  
  
"Of course." nodded Hermione, noticing for the first time that Professor McGonagall appeared to have spruced herself up at bit.   
  
She could not help smiling as they left. It appeared that their head of house was going to have a gentleman caller.  
  
  
For her part, Hermione went quite gladly back to her dormitory for a good night's sleep in her own bed, which was thoroughly deserved and had been equally missed during the escapade in the prison realm. Ginny had other plans and instead of going up to the sixth year dormitory where her year mates were sleeping, she crept out of Gryffindor Tower and stole through the empty and unpatroled hallways of the castle until she reached Remus's private rooms.  
  
The door was unlocked as Remus had not bothered to lock or ward the door when he went to visit professor Snape that evening ages and ages ago before any of them had been exposed to the world on the other side of the mirrors. Ginny stepped inside and found her way to a comfortable scarlet and gold couch in front of the fireplace, where a blaze was crackling against the chill of the night. She curled up upon the sofa and waited for the coming dawn, intending to see Remus as soon as he returned from the Shrieking Shack.  
  
  
Above, in the tower of the Gryffindors, two aging lions discussed old times and old feelings, which had withstood the test of time and other trials, while their students slept, some in their beds and some in other places. The castle's potions' master rested peacefully in the hospital wing while the young woman who was fast falling completely and utterly in love with him lay in her own bed curled up beneath several layers of blankets and dreamed of his dark and beautiful eyes. A young and brave professor in werewolf form bayed at the full moon and snarled at the shadows within the confines he had known as a teenager. But within a small portion of his mind he still held the image of a young witch with red hair who could look upon him with eyes of compassion, understanding, and love. And that young woman slept contentedly in his rooms and dreamed of her sweet Remus's return.  
  
And all was well within the castle walls that night, though there would be few nights so serene thereafter. A war was upon them, but for a single night, the world seemed to be at peace, for they themselves were at peace. Love was blossoming, for some after long and countless winters. It was spring again in their hearts. And they were strengthened for the trials ahead.  
  
  
  
The End  
  
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A/N: Too fluffy. Erg, I hate endings!  
  
  
Sarah T: Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Enfleurage: I will definitely write another SS/HG story sometime, though I can't say when. I'm glad you enjoyed the way I wrote the characters. Thank you very much for reviewing!  
  
JoeBob1379: Yeah, it is kind of sad for them. *sighs* Thanks for the review!  
  
Serenity Raye: Well, 'taken to heart' is kind of strong. But it has given him food for thought. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Michelle: Yep! True love. Molly ... Wow, that is quite a thought! Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Serpenthe: All valid points. I am a sucker for happy endings (or close approximations thereof). I just _couldn't_ leave someone there. The agony of choosing which one it would have been unbearable. Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey both have something in common. Minerva would have known about Remus' uncomfortable youth (constantly seeming ill or sicky and leaving school quite often for some reason, even if she was unaware of his lycanthropy). Poppy knew what Remus was, and I would like to believe that as a medical professional understood both that he could not help it and how much he suffered. So both women would probably have loved nothing more than to see Remus happy (and Ginny too). But I think Remus would be more discerning about his public displays of affection in the future perhaps. I have an argumentative nature. Just had to answer that. *shrugs* Thank you very much for your constructive criticism. It is, after all, very hard to come by.  
  
plastic: Thank you for the review!  
  
labrisa: Yes, it has to end now. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Aine Deande: All the things that you listed (except the lip-lock) are in the sketchy outline for the next thing I'm going to write *twitches painfully* if my writer's block will ease up. Thank you for reviewing!  
  
lollylips3: Thank you!  
  
AnnabelleElizabeth: Thank you for reviewing!  
  
LadySnape: Thanks for the review!  
  
Lily of the Shadow: I'll try to oblige, but my muse *sighs* has somehow disappeared. If you happen to see him ... tell him to come home! Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Rhianna: Thanks for the review!  
  
And to anyone who reviews in the future - Thank you!  
  
  



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